Carlos Acosta / Spring Fringe / The Beauty Parade / Tylwyth

Well, obviously, coronavirus panic has called a halt to all theatrical activity for the time being (including a rudimentary project I was working on); but at least I managed to see and review some interesting stuff before the shut-down.

Acosta Danza (photo: Johan Persson)

The most high-profile was legendary Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Acosta’s company delivering a beautifully diverse programme entitled “Acosta Danza Evolution” at the Wales Millennium Centre, culminating in Christopher Bruce’s amusing Rolling Stones-soundtracked “Rooster”. Also celebratory, although in a more sombre fashion was Kaite O’Reilly’s “The Beauty Parade”, in the W.M.C.’s Weston Studio - an aesthetically ambitious, multi-media tribute to female undercover operatives during World War 2.

 

Sophie Stone in "The Beauty Parade" (photo: Jorge Lizalde)

I also caught two shows in the now-truncated Spring Fringe season at The Other Room: the likeably ramshackle “Back To Berlin”, about the beginning of the end of the Cold War; and Katie Greenall’s “Fatty Fat Fat”, a brave but funny look at body image. There was, in addition, a trip to Newport’s Riverfront to see Operasonic’s enchanting “Vehicles”, a small-scale opera for young people, with a science-fiction twist.

 

"Back To Berlin" (photo: Dali Mia Poulsom)

The big hit of the year, however, was shaping up to be “Tylwyth” at the Sherman, Daf James follow-up to “Llwyth”, his pioneering look at the lives of gay men within a Welsh-speaking environment. I was delighted to note that a familiarity with the first play was unnecessary, and while I didn’t get all of the cultural references, sur-titles meant that most of the wit and darkness came across. Sadly, however, like most cultural life in the U.K. and beyond, the Welsh tour has been postponed.

 

"Tylwyth"

"Wolf" / "Suspense" / "Carmen"

Two theatre-reviewing assignments this week: my first visit of the year to The Other Room for a show in their Springe Fringe season of curated work – Lewis Doherty’s “Wolf” – a clever one-man parody action movie; and “An Evening Of… Suspense” – two classic American radio plays, including “Sorry, Wrong Number”, at the Atrium.

 

Lewis Doherty as "Wolf" (photo: Geraint Lewis)

In between, I took advantage of the rare opportunity to see an opera I’ve always wanted to  – Bizet’s “Carmen” from the Welsh National Opera at the Wales Millennium Centre (from the cheapest of cheap, restricted view tickets, in the upper circle). And a beautiful experience it was too, in Jo Davies’ production, apparently set in 1970s Brazil. Julia Mintzer was compellingly sexy as the titular temptress, but Peter Auty as soldier Don José and Giorgio Caoduru as Escamillo, the bullfighter she abandons him for were also hugely impressive, as was Elin Pritchard, making her home debut as the disregarded Micaëla. Timeless melodies, of course, teeing us up for the startlingly violent conclusion. Hopefully not the first major ambition I’ll achieve this year.

"Llyrf Glas Nebo" / "Winners"

After the traditional January drought, two theatre review assignments came up in close succession. First up was Manon Steffan Ros’ adaptation of her best-selling Y.A. novel “Llyfr Glas Nebo” (“The Blue Book Of Nebo”), a post-apocalyptic tale set in North Wales and presented in Welsh with (on the night I attended) English sur-titles; a touching portrayal of a mother-son relationship under impossible conditions. The next evening, also in the Sherman Theatre, but in the studio space, was the latest in their irregular “Get It While It’s Hot” series of “A Play, A Pie and A Pint”-style presentations:– Lowri Jenkins' “Winners”, about a relationship defined by the love of rugby; funny and poignant.

Incidentally, it was good to see the Sherman foyer abuzz, with two plays on at the same time – a rare occurrence in recent years.

"The King And I" / Best Theatre of 2019

January is generally a barren desert when it comes to theatre-going, so it was good to get an opportunity to see the touring version of the recent Broadway revival of “The King And I” at the Wales Millennium Centre – my first ever live experience of a Rodgers and Hammerstein. Very impressive and pointed, and a reminder of the power of the American musical of the classic era.

The King And I (pic: Johan Persson)

Meanwhile, I contributed the customary Bests of 2019 piece to the British Theatre Guide; delighted to name National Theatre Wales’ “On Bear Ridge” as my production of the year.

Over Christmas, I had my regular appointment to catch up on “Star Wars”, and found “The Rise Of Skywalker” to be surprisingly coherent and dramatically satisfying – but then, I’m not immersed or particularly invested in the culture.

Festive Theatre Round-Up

Through accident or design, the big Christmas show at the Wales Millennium Centre this year is the touring version of West End/Broadway blockbuster “Les Misérables”, which sets the appropriate tone for the festive period. Actually, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to – the barricade was especially imposing.

"Les Mis" (photo: Helen Maybanks)

A few weeks ago, the season kicked off there with the touring production of “Nativity! The Musical”, Debbie Isitt’s adaptation of her successful film, which was very amusing. The actual Christmas show in the venue’s Weston Studio  is “Red” from Likely Story Theatre – an imaginative, freewheeling, small-scale tale set in the Red Riding Hood universe. The festive show on the Sherman’s main stage  is “The Snow Queen” – as clever and entertaining as is traditional, but it could have done with more magical appearances from the title character.

"The Snow Queen" (photo: Mark Douet)

"Red" (Photo Polly Thomas)

In a non-festive vein, National Theatre Wales collaborated with inclusive theatre company Hijinx for eco-sci-fi extravaganza “Mission Control” at the Principality Stadium: impressive in terms of vision, less so when it came to organisation.

"Mission Control" (photo: Main House)

Last week I attended the latest BBC Writers Room Wales Festival, held at the National Museum. As usual, Russell T Davies was a funny and inspirational speaker; and the evening event involving Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones, and focussing on “Gavin And Stacey” was a joy.

"Hive City Legacy" / "Hela" / National Dance Company Wales

My latest batch of theatre reviews: “Hive City Legacy” at the Wales Millennium Centre – a touring performance piece giving us the rare opportunity to see several “femmes of colour” on stage at the same time in a music/dance extravaganza focussing on issues of identity (which played to a disappointingly small audience on the night I saw it); Mari Izzard’s bilingual psychological thriller “Hela”, the final piece in the dystopian Violence Series at The Other Room; and the latest collection of excellent short pieces presented by National Dance Company Wales under the heading “Roots” at the W.M.C.’s Dance House – as always, it’s good to see them going to the effort of making a sometimes abstruse art-form accessible without dumbing down.

Lowri Izzard and Gwydion Rhys in "Hela" (Photo: Kirsten McTernan)

"On Your Feet" / "Hedda Gabler" / "I Wish I Was A Mountain"

As always, my theatre reviewing “career” has thrown up some fascinating juxtapositions. The day after the touring version of “On Your Feet”, the highly accomplished jukebox musical based on the career of the Miami Sound Machine (who were founded, I hadn’t realised, on the songwriting prowess of lead singer Gloria Estefan), at the Wales MillenniumCentre, I saw the Sherman’s production of Ibsen’s epoch-making “Hedda Gabler”, featuring some slightly odd directorial touches, but also some brilliant performances, especially from the women.

 

Heledd Gwynn as Hedda Gabler (Photo: Mark Douet)

A week or so later came Toby Thompson’s “I Wish I Was A Mountain” at the Centre’s Weston Studio – a show for children with an unusually philosophical bent based, as it is, on a story by Herman Hesse; its several pleasing aspects included the jazz-inflected score.

Toby Thompson (Photo: Jack Offord)

"Gods & Kings" / "The Story" / "Grease" / "The Invisible Woman" / Roathbud

Another startlingly diverse couple of weeks of theatre reviewing. Starting in Newport with the mental health themed monologue “Gods & Kings”, cleverly staged as a duet between actor Robert Bowman and sign-language interpreter Sami Thorpe; then came Tess Berry-Hart’s clever and pointed political allegory “The Story” at The Other Room, the latest in their Violence Series. In stark contrast was a large-scale touring production of 1950s-set, 1970s-written “Grease” at the Wales Millennium Centre, beautifully performed by a largely youthful cast, if not entirely coherent plot-wise; and, in the same building, “The Invisible Woman”, a lively piece about a disregarded middle-aged woman which kicked off their Performances For The Curious season.

Hannah McPake and Siwan Morris in "The Story" (Photo: Kirsten McTernan)

There’s no Made In Roath arts festival this year, but there was a Roathbud film event last night, at which my Delia Derbyshire / John Peel film had its first public screening, along with several other intriguing pieces.

"On Bear Ridge" / "American Nightmare" / "Say When" / "The Creature"

Cardiff’s August theatre drought (Edinburgh Festival-related) came to an end with the launch of the autumn season at The Other Room – The Violence Series starting with Matthew Bulgo’s “American Nightmare” (an expanded version of a play I worked on at the venue’s Young Artists’ Festival a couple of years ago); a futuristic vision of war and technology. There was also Robert Bowman’s “Say When”, a solo piece about male body-image/weight issues and their relationship to environmental concerns. Equally in tune with straight-from-the-headlines concerns, but rather more elliptically, is Lucy Gough’s “The Creature”, a take on extreme youth criminality told through the prism of “Frankenstein”.

"American Nightmare" (photo: Kirsten McTernan)

The undoubted highlight, though, and the nation’s most high profile production for a while has to be Ed Thomas’ “On Bear Ridge”, from National Theatre Wales and The Royal Court Theatre, featuring Rhys Ifans’ first ever appearance on the main stage at the Sherman Theatre – more war and dystopia, but with a distinctive and surreal rural Welsh accent. One waits, agog, to see what the London audience will make of it.

"On Bear Ridge" (photo: Mark Douet)

"Once Upon A Time In... Hollywood" / "Annie" / "Club Tropicana"

Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time In… Hollywood” is a meticulously assembled love letter to a vintage Hollywood on the brink of change in the late 1960s. It tells the tale of a few days in the real and professional lives of an almost-washed-up action star, Rick Dalton – brilliantly played by Leo DiCaprio - and Cliff Booth, his even more obsolescent stuntman (Brad Pitt), whose lives intersect (eventually) with those of fresh-faced, optimistic Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), and the sinister faux-hippies of Manson family. It is leisurely, almost meditative in tone, at least until the violent, history-rewriting climax. Beautifully done.

Most local theatre-makers appear to have disappeared off to Edinburgh; thus, the only work I’ve got to see in recent weeks are large-scale touring musicals at the Wales Millennium Centre. Most recently was the 1930s-set Broadway classic “Annie”,  which I found quite cheering; a little less so was 1980’s pop-fest “Club Tropicana” – a somewhat more cynical confection.

Craig Revel Horwood in "Annie" (photo: Paul Coltas)

Edinburgh Fringe Shows / Homeless World Cup

This is the time of year when all theatrical activity ceases everywhere except in Edinburgh, so I thought I might as well flag up my reviews of those productions I’ve seen in Cardiff which are playing on the Festival Fringe – all of them solo shows, as it happens.

Carys Eleri’s multimedia take on love and loneliness, “Lovecraft” returns, last year’s run having been curtailed due to a bereavement; National Theatre Wales are showcasing two of their N.H.S. monologues, including Rachel Trezise’s abortion-themed “Cotton Fingers”; Dirty Protest are offering Sian Owen’s Newport odyssey “How To Be Brave”; Jonny Cotsen muses on his experience of a lifetime of deafness in “Louder Is Not Always Clearer”; and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama are bringing Benjamin McCann’s apocalyptic “Grit”. There’s also a non-Welsh show which played at The Other Room: “Laurie Black – Space Cadette”.

 

Carys Eleri (Photo - Kirsten McTernan)

Meanwhile, in Cardiff, the Homeless World Cup, backed spiritual and financially by Welsh actor Michael Sheen has been happening, which was well worth popping down to see in the city’s Bute Park, whether to check out the four-a-side sporting action, or other events, including musical entertainment in the evening. On Thursday, I managed to see the much-acclaimed relative indie newcomers Mellt, who were very impressive; as well as one of the finest bands ever to come out of Wales, The Joy Formidable, led by charismatic guitar heroine Ritzy, who mentioned that they were marking their tenth anniversary. Some very powerful, emotional songs, anchored by some jazz-tinged bass-playing; with the genial mood enhanced by the rabble-rousing drummer. Lovely stuff.

The Joy Formidable (with Michael Sheen side of stage)

"Kinky Boots" / "Grit"

Still running, as I write, at the Wales Millennium Centre is “Kinky Boots”, the Broadway/West End hit stopping off as part of an extensive U.K tour. This tale of a struggling Northampton shoe-making factory which saves itself by starting to cater to the drag queen market features a dazzling central performance from Kayi Ushe as Lola (aka Simon), and a mercifully non-musical-theatre-esque song score by Cyndi Lauper. And without getting bogged down in debate, Harvey Fierstein’s script provokes discussion about the nature of masculinity.

Kayi Ushe in "Kinky Boots" (Photo: Helen Maybanks)

The night after seeing this, I went to a preview of a show at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of scale – a one-man play on a post-apocalyptic theme, which is being taken to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. “Grit”, written and performed by Benjamin McCann, is a highly accomplished production – it will be interesting to see how the Edinburgh run goes.

"A Prayer For Wings" / Garbage

Last week, I paid a rare visit to Swansea, to see West End/Broadway director Sean Mathias’ production of the play which kick-started his career in the mid-1980s, “A PrayerFor Wings”, performed in his home town for the first time, at the Volcano Theatre. The play itself was beautifully performed, and stood up very well, but one was inevitably distracted by the presence of Sir Ian McKellen and Frances Barber supporting their old friend in that intimate, rough-and-ready space; Kevin Allen who played the male role in the original Edinburgh production was also in attendance.

"A Prayer For Wings" production team (photo: Swansea Grand Theatre)

Sunday night saw a long-awaited event – the visit of Garbage to Cardiff, several years after a previous date was cancelled when the band went on hiatus. In support, in the Great Hall at the Students’ Union, was DuBlonde, featuring guitar heroine Beth Jeans Houghton leading a classic rock trio with a stripped-down, sensitively punky set, mostly comprising new material; and she even manned the merch stall during the interval.

The headliners were in imperious form, singer Shirley Manson in chatty mood as she admitted being more at ease playing in a relatively intimate space than during other recent shows. With the augmented classic line-up missing only drummer and super-producer Butch Vig (rotator cuff injury), the set focussed on the  second album “Version 2.0”, the current tour marking the 20^th anniversary re-release; but newer songs such as “Blood For Poppies” got an airing, as well as classic early singles “Vow”, “Only Happy When It Rains” and “Stupid Girl”. One forgets how massive Garbage were in the 1990s, with the world ready for a female-oriented, electronica-inflected take on grunge, and Manson is certainly an authoritative but somehow relatable frontwoman. This was a propulsive, 80-minute set, and I felt the absence of some of their more poignant songs (“Cup Of Coffee” excepted), but it was rounded off with an ironic encore of “When I Grow Up”, delighting a crowd many of whom were not in the first flush of youth.

The show provided a fittingly feverish end to a day of remarkable televised sport (England’s men winning the Cricket World Cup; Djokovic beating Federer in the longest ever Wimbledon final).

"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.

Pepperland / Young Artists Festival / Dirty Protest

Last week I got the opportunity to experience, for the first time, the work of legendary American choreographer Mark Morris, as “Pepperland”, his and composer Ethan Iverson's tribute to the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper" album played at the Wales Millennium Centre as part of his group's U.K. tour. Wonderful stuff - very colourful and witty, and a much-needed reminder of late 1960s idealism and optimism.

 

"Pepperland" (photo: Mat Hayward)

Last week also saw the 5th annual Young Artists Festival at The Other Room. I got to see the final night of three, on which short plays by Isley Lynn, Brad Birch, Roger Williams, Lisa Parry, Nerida Bradley and Owen Thomas were performed by a cohort of young actors. As always, a selection of pieces which ran the gamut from darkly experimental to broadly comic; as always, an impressive set of performances.

There were more short plays the following evening. I managed to get to a hastily arranged evening of Dirty Protest pieces at local vegetarian cafe Milgi which was where the project started, in 2007, and which was due to close its doors for the final time. The yurt out back has hosted work by dozens of writers (myself included), and been graced by the presence of some remarkable actors (including, on one memorable occasion, a pre-fame Arthur Darvill and Phoebe Waller-Bridge). This celebratory event saw some of DP's greatest hits, from Kit Lambert, Tracy Harris, Alan Harris, Rhiannon Boyle and Roger Williams (again) performed by Siwan Morris (who took part in the very first Dirty Protest), Matthew Bulgo, Gareth Pierce and Rhian Blythe. All very jolly, and this time, I managed to get a seat.

Macbeth / Les Miserables / Storm 3 / Bottom / Camp Be Yourself / Motown / How To Be Brave

Last year, my birthday trip was to London to see the National Theatre’s “Macbeth”. Inevitably, less than a year later, it arrived in Cardiff, albeit with an entirely different cast, so I took the opportunity to experience it again at the Wales Millennium Centre. Famously given what might be termed a “chavvy” styling, the touring version seemed a little less barking mad than the original production – but still enjoyable and action-packed.

Michael Nardone as Macbeth (photo: Brinkhoff-Mogenburg)

Talking of barking madness, I was fortunate to be invited to review a preview performance of a Brexit-themed “Les Misérables” from August 012 at Chapter; drawing parallels between the battle of Waterloo and Britain’s relationship with the rest of the European Union – typical organised chaos from director Mathilde Lopez.

"Les Miserables" (photo: Studio Cano)

European identity was also in the subtext of “Storm 3: Together And Alone” from National Theatre Wales in Newport; Mike Brookes’ adaptation of Simone De Beauvoir’s “The Ethics of Ambiguity”; a bit of a hard slog, but a talented young Welsh cast.

"Storm 3" (National Theatre Wales)

More unambiguously entertaining was “Motown The Musical”, back at the Wales Millennium Centre; using the life-story of Berry Gordy Jr as a hook on which to hang some spectacular performances from that remarkable songbook.

"The Supremes" in "Motown The Musical" (photo: Tristram Kenton)

I also enjoyed the final two performances in the Spring Fringe season at The Other Room: “Camp Be Yourself”, an American summer-camp spoof from Box Theatre Company; and Willy Hudson’s “Bottom”, about the contemporary gay experience.

"Camp Be Yourself" (Box Theatre Company)

And, most recently, courtesy of Dirty Protest Theatre, Siân Owen’s “How To Be Brave”, a heartening one-woman play about being supported through tough times, performed in front of a community audience in the heart of Newport, the city which inspired it.

Laura Dalgleish in "How To Be Brave" (photo: Kirsten McTernan)

Roberto Devereux / Awakening / Peeling / The Full Monty / Shrew etc

There’s nothing like a spot of variety. On successive evenings at the end of February I watched a one-man play recreating a fictional kids TV show, a traditional 19^th century opera given a steam-punk visual flourish, and a trilogy of contemporary dance pieces, one involving spectacular mirror-based illusionism.

Justin Teddy Cliffe’s “Tigerface” – a piece about the importance of not letting go of your childhood dreams - was part of the Spring Fringe season at The Other Room, in which the very clever “Bummer And Lazarus”, a kind of canine take on “Waiting For Godot”, also featured.

Joyce El-Khoury (photo: Bill Cooper)

The opera was Donizetti’s “Roberto Devereux” from Welsh National Opera; a piece with which I was previously unfamiliar. This is his take on the story of Queen Elizabeth 1^st and the Earl of Essex, and featured a remarkably intense lead performance from Joyce El-Khoury as the vengeful monarch. In contrast, a couple of weeks later, again in the Wales Millennium Centre, came the touring version of “The Full Monty”, which was probably a closer adaptation of the angry “steelworkers turned male strippers” film than the largely female audience was expecting.

"Afterimage" (photo: Rhys Cozens)

The dance show was “Awakening” from National Dance Company Wales, comprising their now-classic “Tundra”, alongside the magical “Afterimage”, and Caroline Finn’s pagan-ritual-influenced “Reveller’s Mass”. This was in the Newport Riverfront, where the following week I saw Taking Flight’s revival of Kaite O’Reilly’s “Peeling”, about three actresses with disabilities reflecting on tokenism and much else.

"The Taming Of The Shrew" (photo: Mark Douet)

In addition to this was the Sherman’s “The Taming Of The Shrew”, which was free-wheeling fun featuring a strong largely female cast, although Jo Clifford’s gender-swapping Shakespeare rewrite didn’t really solve the problems of the play’s inherent sexism; and Meltem Arikan’s “Y Brain/Kargalar”, a lyrical two-hander in Welsh and Turkish about memory, exile and reinvention.

Then there was the Creative Conversation, hosted by National Theatre Wales, a day-long “Devoted and Disgruntled” discussion event, which was meant to be about the future of Welsh theatre in general rather than criticisms of the company; although a few inevitably surfaced. Still, it was good to be in a room with lots of people who love the art form.

"tick, tick... BOOM!" / Stammermouth / "See-Through" / Hijinx

I was lucky enough to pay my first ever visit to the Valleys town of Newbridge, a week or so ago, to see the inaugural production from a new company, Yes Please :– Jonathan “Rent” Larson’s small-scale rock musical “tick… tick… BOOM!” – an excellent trio of performances, even if the source material was a tad irritating in that neurotically complacent “off-Broadway musical” way.

There were also two visits to The Other Room, for their Spring Fringe season of off-beat visiting works – Stammermouth’s “Just A Few Words”, which has a personal resonance for me; and Claire Gaydon’s YouTube tragi-comedy, “See-Through” – both deceptively clever.

 

Stammermouth (photo: Holly Cade)

Not to mention the latest from Hijinx at the Sherman, in collaboration with Teatro La Ribalta and Frantic Assembly: “Into The Light” - a highly imaginative physical theatre piece in which performers both with and without learning disabilities explored the hunger to perform.

"Into The Light" (Hijinx)

"Space Cadette" / "Blue"

My first two theatre reviews of 2019 – inevitably, two very different pieces of work. First up was “Space Cadette”, part of a curated season of work from various festival fringes at The Other Room – a science-fiction-inflected cabaret performance from the very talented Laurie Black.

"Space Cadette"

A few days later came “Blue” from Chippy Lane at Chapter – a West-Walian family comedy-drama heavily influenced (this is acknowledged by producer Rebecca Jade Hammond and writer Rhys Warrington) by Tennessee Williams; if the critical consensus thus far is anything to go by, it’s the hit of the season.

"Blue" (photo: Kirsten McTernan)