Furthers Go to London to Support Jodie - and theatre reviews of her role
Tuesday, March 1st, 2011Jodie Taibi (one of our original Stagecoach Darlington students and a recent Drama teacher for Further Stages) has just opened in the West End in Noel Coward`s “Blithe Spirit” playing the maid, Edith. When the play was on its pre-West End tour and stopped at Milton Keynes, Sue Mark in her review said, “As I’ve already said Jodie Taibi was hilarious as the maid and if the rest of the cast were not such accomplished actors she would have been a show stealer.”
Another reviewer of the Milton Keynes leg of the tour said, ““But each time Steadman came on she hogged the limelight - and that’s no criticism. She gave a hugely over-the-top performance and, at times, seemed to be the only one relaxed enough to enjoy the play.The only other wildly eccentric character to come close was Jodie Taibi whose comic turn as Edith the maid brought the house down”.When the show appeared in Cambridge a reviewer said, “ Edith, the Condomimes’ cack-handed, flat-footed maid is given something more than just a comic-turn portrait by Jodie Taibi.”When at Brighton, a reviewer wrote, “ Jodie Taibi as ‘Edith’ the ex-army maid is milked for every laugh with an engaging and wonderfully physically funny performance.”Other review comments have said
“And Jodie Taibi as Edith the neurotic maid has the audience’s rapt attention with her fascinating attempts to clear tables.”
“Jodie Taibi’s performance as the odd housemaid, Edith, whose speed of operation is at-the-double or stop, is a sheer delight.”
”Jodie Taibi’s slapstick comedy as the Maid brought the house down.”
The Times said, ” At least as good as any of them - possibly better - is Jodie Taibi, as Edith the maid, a small role to which she brings hilarious physical comedy, wide-eyed amazement and finally, even a touch of real emotion, the only such moment in the play.”
The Observer said, “There’s a clever comic turn from Jodie Taibi as the maid who comes in bowed with the weight of an enormous tea tray on which (nice touch) the silver shakes as if a spirit had already entered the house: boggle-eyed with concentration, she tries to lower it to a table by slowly doing the splits”
The Evening Standard, “ And credit must go to Jodie Taibi who, in a smallish role as the couple’s inept and anxious maid Edith, gets the evening off to a memorably gymnastic start.
Not a bad review in sight. Brilliant!!
And so thought the seven members of Jodie`s Further Stages classes (that I can spot in the photos) who ventured down to London to see the show during half term - Hayley Moohan, Sally Messham, Alice Hughes, Rob Hancock, Matthew Lewis, Nick Brown, Charlotte Pybus. Hayley said members of the audience asked them after the show if they knew Jodie (they had given her such an ovation) and these people had said how impressed they had been with Jodie`s performance. The Furthers gang got a back-stage tour and spent the rest of their trip sightseeing:-
Jodie (left) and Hayley
Rob, Hayley, Jodie, Alice and Sally
The gang
Cheese!! (Matthew Lewis, third from the left had reasons of his own to celebrate after his return - see separate post)
