Tuesday 21 October 2014

Review: The Five & The Prophecy of Prana at Northern Stage



The Five & The Prophecy of Prana
Boy Blue Entertainment
  


Newcastle Northern Stage
21 & 22 October 2014

Someone brought up on Adam West era Batman and 1970s tv series Monkey will be well at home with the cartoonesque production The Five And The Prophecy Of Prana. The screens are filled with graphic novel style illustrations and the voice is deliberately not lip synced in this exciting production.

Five chosen guardians are given the task of looking after one of five orbs containing the soul of an evil Emperor. These 5 guardians are succeeded by a new generation every 60 years. This show kicks in as the next batch of five are in court for various crimes. A mentor, Wang Tang, comes along arranges a pardon and starts the two year training programme. Soo Lin has a plan to collect the five orbs in order to restore the power and it is up to the five guardians to stop her.

The action is fast paced, the dancing and martial arts moves run non-stop as the company take full advantage of the width of Stage 1. Tommy Franzen oozes class as the mentor Wang Tang and Michele ‘Paleta’ Rhyner is stunning as Soo Lin. The Five are Tuggy (Theo ‘Godson’ Oloyade), Michelle(Vicky ‘Skytilz’ Mantey), Maxine(Xena Gusthart), Finch(Kofi ‘Klik’ Mingo) and Stylouse (Frankie Johnson) and they are on stage for most of the show and are given many opportunities to both act and dance. The action borrows from Manga and computer games like Street Fighter.
 Unlike some dance shows: there is a clear narrative requiring some acting skills. Frankie Johnson, for example, has a fabulous solo slot whilst describing the spirit animals.

The music by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante provides a heartbeat which pulses through the show. The choreography by Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy is tight and flawless. Asante and Sandy are also the creators and directors of a production which was very accessible and may go some way to persuade the younger members of the audience to view dance in a new light.

The Five & The Prophecy of Prana is vibrant, action packed show which will entertain a wide range of age groups.

On The Web


Tickets:
Recommended age: 6+
Running time: 1 hour 50 mins (including interval)
Tickets: £24, £19.50 & £14.50 / Students & U21s £12
Family Offer: Family of 4 £45
Multibuy: Book an additional show and get your tickets cheaper!
Online booking: www.northernstage.co.uk
Telephone booking: 0191 230 5151

On Tour:

21 & 22 Oct                  Northern Stage, Newcastle                             0191 230 5151
24 & 25 Oct                  Nottingham Playhouse                                   0115 941 9419
28 & 29 Oct                  Grand Theatre, Blackpool                               01253 743346
1 & 2 Nov                     Gulbenkian, Canterbury                               01227 769075
4 & 5 Nov                     Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry                    024 7652 4524
7 & 8 Nov                    Oxford Playhouse                                            01865 305305
11 & 12 Nov                 The Lowry, Salford Quays                                 0843 208 6010
14 & 15 Nov                 Sherman Theatre, Cardiff                                029 2064 6900

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