Best musical - Laurence Olivier Awards 2000
Music by George Stiles, Book & lyrics by Anthony Drewe
Kenneth H. Wax Ltd. in association with Imagination Entertainments by arrangement with The Theatre Royal Plymouth present
a Royal National Theatre Production
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2001 Spring Tour
REVIEWS
These reviews are in plain text so you may copy and paste as necessary. The reviews are posted in REVERSE chronological order so the latest review is the first you see.
N.B., the grammar and spellings are as they appear in the original review.
Buck Free Press (High Wycombe)
Friday 20th July 2001
Ugly Duckling proves a beauty
Honk! Wycombe Swan
(Pictured: Ida with ducklings in Honk!)
IT is easy to see why this modern-day version of Hans Christian Anderson's Ugly Duckling story was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award 2000.
Tracie Bennett, late of Coronation Street, was superb as Ida the mother duck with Norman Pace of the Hale and Pace duo making an amusing Drake and a brilliant Bullfrog. Richard Dempsey gave a fine performance as the Ugly Duckling and Clive Rowe was marvellous as the cat, a role to die for.
There were some excellent songs especially the very moving Different sung by the Ugly Duckling.
The costumes were brilliant throughout and the lighting effects could not have been better. Members of the cast played so many roles that it was a surprise in the finale to find there were only sixteen performers.
The show had both comedy and pathos, and was arranged on several levels - just right for the children with some clever jokes for the adults. Some of the scenes were unexpected but cleverly woven into the plot, many with hilarious results. The scene where the geese took flight was both funny and extremely well staged. The sequence with the bullfrog almost brought the house down.
A show for all ages, the young and the young at heart. It runs until Sunday with a matinee and evening performances. It comes highly recommended and will be enjoyed by all who see it. Not to be missed.
Rita Carpenter
Jersey Evening Post
Wednesday 11th. July 2001
REVIEW: Royal National Theatre, Honk!, Opera House
A quacking show!
by Iosbel Osmont
THERE are two sorts of people in this world - the ducks and the frogs - I decided as I watched this musical. And Norman Pace is better as a frog. In fact he's a terrific frog.
The story is basically that of the Ugly Duckling and it concentrates on the message that different isn't necessarily wrong or bad.
The ugly duckling is hatched - and looks not unlike a gangling John Major in his youth - wearing knee-length shorts, school blazer and cap, and is markedly different from his siblings.
Jeered at and bullied by his poultry - sorry, paltry - peer group, Ugly makes his escape from the duckyard with the only creature that has befriended him, the farmyard cat. He, however, exuberantly played by Clive Rowe, is only after dinner, of course, but he is a vastly entertaining feline, and the song You Can Play With Your Food is very clever. In fact, most of the songs are very witty, as is the script. And there are some lovely character parts in the production, including the squadron leader and the matriarchal duck who was a good mix of Margaret Thatcher and Barbara Cartland.
Astonishing
And as my companion commented, it is really quite astonishing how many words exist in the English language which rhyme with duck. In fact, as my companion also said, the poultry gags were coming at us faster than Emu on speed.
The singing was excellent, if occasionally a little too loud to make out the words in places - the Opera House is only a small theatre - the musical accompaniment was excellent too, as were the dancing and choreography, effects, lighting and costumes - the last being mainly everyday, human clothing which somehow looked bird- or frog- or cat-like.
But we were left, during the interval, wondering why more had not been made of the fact that it was all geared at a younger audience. The youngsters who were there were thoroughly enjoying themselves and it seems a shame that the production wasn't booked for some time in the summer holidays when the whole family, as well as visitors, could watch it, although I expect it had something to do with the National Theatre's touring schedule. The second half was much more enjoyable for we over-30s, and included a very funny, but unexpectedly raunchy song and dance routine by the Cat and a flirty female feline he met.
Highlights of the show were the geese, the fish dance, the cat suddenly turning into a disco dancing Barry White and, later, Don King - I will never look at the flamboyant boxing promoter in the same way again - and the very funny frog dance. A special mention must be made of Richard Dempsey who played Ugly. This must be a dream role for a young actor, and he really was quite splendid.
It was an excellent production, as you would expect from this theatre group, deserving of a much bigger audience than came to the opening night. But it would suit a younger audience too.
Honk! continues at the Opera House until Sunday 15 July starting at 7.30 pm with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2.30 pm.
(Pictured: Shelling out: Ugly, played by Richard Dempsey, emerges from his egg at the beginning of Honk! Picture: JON GUEGAN)
Sheffield Telegraph
Friday 6th. July 2001
Honk! Lyceum
THE mark of a good musical is that it can take what, on the face of it, appears to be unpromising material, then turn it into theatrical gold.
Honk is a re-working of the Hans Anderson classic The Ugly Duckling, and whilst you can judge it on an esoteric level of a celebration of being different in an increasingly multi-cultural society, most audiences are content to sit back and be entertained by a blast of creativity and innovation which, not surprisingly, led to a best musical award last year.
Honk has every poultry cliche known to fowl. So here's Honk in an eggshell: a brilliant cast take to the stage like ducks to water, egged on by a cracking musical score and performed with feather-flying pluck.
Sheffield continues its love affair with Tracie Bennett - is there anything this woman can't do - who delivers a bravura performance as mother duck, fragrant and aromatic, and crisply protective of her charges.
Norman Pace is the wayward Drake, never in the nest but always out on the lake, and in the second act he plays Bullfrog, fronting one of the biggest production numbers in the show, which leaves audiences stunned and gasping for more.
Clive Rowe's Cat is the villain of the farm and he has a deliciously slimy demeanour as he lures Ugly away from the duckyard.
Richard Dempsey's transformation from duckling to swan ( a sort of Harry Potter lookalike to Superman ) is entirely believable, as indeed is the rest of the story.
The bold and brash costume designs only hint at the characters and what we are actually seeing is a sort of anthropomorphism in reverse. Here's a family with all the usual problems you would expect; kids growing up in an uncertain world, family relationships that cause tensions, and how being different is condemned rather than celebrated.
Or just treat it as a cracking farmyard yarn which adults and youngsters can enjoy in equal measure.
Alan Powell
The Star (Sheffield)
Tuesday 3rd July 2001
Honk, The Lyceum
IT may not have the weight of a French literary adaptation or the scale of an Argentinian political tragedy but Honk's cheerful simplicity is what makes it different.
It's a bubbly, chirpy take on the Ugly Duckling story, providing a fresh slant on Hans Anderson's theory that it's what's on the inside that counts.
The songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe bounce along nicely enough, but there's one great problem - there isn't one truly memorable number.
There are some performers, though, who can make any evening memorable and this production has more than its fair share. Tracie Bennett is the best thing in musical theatre today and here, as ever, she works wonders with routine material.
Clive Rowe can always be depended on to give any evening a stylish comic boost - he actually gets the best song of the night with You Can Play With Your Food - and there are good moments too, for Norman Pace in a clever dual role, Marilyn Cutts taking on a selection of parts and Richard Dempsey, particularly engaging as the unfortunate young hero.
They take fairly routine material and let it rise above its limitations to create a thoroughly entertaining family show.
John Highfield
Manchester Evening News
Wednesday 20th June 2001
Duckling and diving
Show that stays ugly to the finish
Opening night with M.E.N. theatre critic KEVIN BOURKE
Honk! The Lowry
Last year, this updated version of Hans Christian Andersen's much-loved The Ugly Duckling beat both Disney's The Lion King and the Abba musical Mamma Mia! to become best musical in the Olivier Awards.
Frankly, either this touring version of this much-feted show must either be a pale reflection of its London incarnation or the Olivier judges must have held a heck of a grudge against both the House of Mouse and the Swedish kings and queens of Europop.
Honk! may well be belted out with considerable gusto and indisputably boasts top-notch production values throughout but, for the most part, its score is a huge disappointment, largely consisting, as it does, of the sort of wretchedly unmemorable rubbish which mistakes shouting for singing and amplification for passion.
Call me old-fashioned, but I can't help but see this as a serious flaw in any musical, whether or not it describes itself as a family show. Although that particular designation surely ought to make it more, rather than less, scrupulous in such matters.
It would, however, be churlish to deny that there's much to admire in Honk!. Tracie Bennett, the once barmaid Sharon in Coronation Street, does sterling work as the plucky Ida, who is the loving mother of Ugly (Richard Dempsey). The set piece from Norman Pace (as in Hale and Pace, and who also plays Ugly's dad Drake) as the Bullfrog is crowd-pleasingly terrific.
Given better songs to work with, and perhaps a few gags that weren't simply variations on the theme of substituting poultry references for human ones, I'm sure most of the other performers might also have made a better impression.
Most significantly it was not simply the adults who seemed to remain largely unmoved by Honk! but also the children. Where I was sitting, they were audibly more interested in where their next lollipop was coming from.
Until Sunday.
Evening Post (Bristol)
Thursday 14th June 2001
Colourful tale of ugly duckling's adventures
Honk!, Theatre Royal, Bath
THIS National Theatre production was a surprise winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for best musical last year and it is easy to see how it triumphed over the highly-rated and better known The Lion King and Mama Mia.
It is a jolly, jaunty and colourful show based on the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale, The Ugly Duckling. Four bright eggs hatch on stage to reveal a quartet of trendy-dressed young chicks but a fifth bursts open to reveal a grey-clad oversized schoolboy, immediately labelled a freak by all except his mother.
Ugly's adventures bring him into contact with a string of amazing animals, including murderous, hungry Cat - played to purr-fection by Clive Rowe - and Bullfrog (Norman Pace) who has the show's best song and dance number, Warts and All.
Tracie Bennett's fine singing voice jerks a few tears as the unfortunate duckling's mother and Richard Dempsey sings and dances his way well in the leading role, although you could hardly describe him as ugly!
The show, directed by Julia McKenzie, should have far wider appeal than the sparse audience, mainly of younger children, it attracted on its first night.
Honk! runs until Sunday, when there is a matinee, with tickets priced from £5 to £21 (phone 01225 448 844).
Star rating ****
Alan King
Bath Chronicle (www.thisisbath.com)
Wednesday 13th June 2001
Out for a duck
Honk - Theatre Royal, Bath
It always seems extraordinary how eternal truths are handed down to succeeding generations in the form that will get them the best attention. Lute songs, perhaps, in the 16th century and rock musicals in the 20th century.
The story of the Ugly Duckling - about being different - might have applied to Jews in the Middle Ages, conscientious objectors during the two world wars and maybe homosexuals during our own time.
In the Royal National Theatre's production of Honk, being different is simply about being a cygnet in a pond full of ducks.
As the fairy tale makes plain, outward appearances can be horribly deceptive.
As you'd expect from this company, this award-winning musical is wonderfully done. There are no fluffy feathers but baseball caps with orange beaks and yellow dungarees. There are lots of hummable songs and exciting choreography. But more than that, it's a heartwarming tale not just for older children but for those of us who need an occasional reminder that there is more to life than just following the gaggle.
Tracie Bennett, from TV's Coronation Street, is little short of an inspiration as the mini-skirted, bovver-booted mother duck, her stage partner being Norman Pace, one half of double act Hale and Pace. Clive Rowe makes a deliciously devious farmyard cat. But, I suppose, all eyes are on Richard Dempsey as the ugly duckling who finally transforms himself into a very cool swan indeed.
The show runs to and including Sunday afternoon.
Christopher Hansford
Croydon Advertiser
Friday 1st. June 2001
Yes sir, that's entertainment
(pictured: Tracie Bennett, who played bad-girl Sharon Gaskell in Coronation Street, sparkles in a very different role in the musical Honk! now at the Churchill Theatre. She plays Ida the duck who hatches an aesthetically challenged offspring.)
Churchill Theatre
Honk!
Peter Steptoe
I FIND IT difficult not to lavish over-fulsome praise on the foot-tapping music of George Stiles and the book and lyrics of Anthony Drewe for this show; of course they were helped by Hans Christian Andersen's Ugly Duckling, but they encapsulated its message admirably.
The menagerie was suggested by the costumes, without a feather in sight, and the playing, singing and dancing was magical. This is definitely a family show, and the enraptured children were as well behaved as their parents.
What a cast! Seventeen of them and they peopled the stage with enthusiasm, elegance and energy in telling this story of a lonely farmyard fowl and his transformation.
Norman Pace as the laid-back father, 'Drake', came into his own as 'Bullfrog' in the appropriately named 'Warts and All'.
Tracie Bennett (from Coronation Street) was the devoted mum 'Ida', who thought all her children were beautiful and went looking for 'Ugly' all the year, until she found him - but then, we kids knew, that's what Mums do. What a talent.
There was the TV presenter Jackdaw (Jason Nolan) from Birdwatch UK among a host of small but persistent scenes.
Marilyn Cutts was regally dowager as 'Grace' and the egg-laying 'Lowbutt'. Her scene with Lindsey Dawson as Queenie in the cottage where they lived was the masterpiece: the arrival of the male cat causing one of them to nearly lose her domesticity.
The cat was, of course, a tom, extremely fond of 'Duck a l'Orange' and pursued our lost duckling relentlessly. Clive Rowe was a big man, who moved lightly with an almost feline grace, purring his words with a menace, and serenading us with a big baritone voice. He was a villain but the twinkle in his evil eye made me like him. I confess to feeling sorry when he got his come-uppance.
Richard Dempsey as 'Ugly' was very tall and dressed in a dowdy grey short-trousered suit, and he gained our sympathy without any seeming effort. The white anorak and dark sunglasses for the transformation scene were brilliant.
Martin Callaghan as Turkey had the last laugh with 'I've survived Christmas'. I went home amused and satisfied but then, "That's Entertainment".
continues tonight(Friday) at 7.45pm, Saturday at 2.30pm and 7.45pm. Box office: 020 8460 6677.
News and Mail (Woking)
Thursday 24th. May 2001
State of the Arts edited by Lisa Porter
Honk is a total hoot
Coronation Street did not do justice to the extensive talents of Tracie Bennett who starred in the award-winning musical Honk on Tuesday night.
As the curtain went up at the New Victoria Theatre, Tracie who was playing the role of mother duck Ida, burst into song displaying a wonderful voice and an affinity for energetic and powerful dance routines.
Co-starring Norman Pace, who plays Drake/Bullfrog, the story is based on Hans Christian Andersen's Ugly Duckling and was a magical production, with exceptional choreography, which captured the audience's imagination in a kaleidoscope of colour.
The stage was filled with an array of animals including ducks, a drake, a turkey, sinister cat and a jackdaw.
But my favourite was Ugly, played by Richard Dempsey - a star of the future - who burst out of his shell to the horror of the rest of the animals, setting the scene for the rest of the tale.
Ida adores her strange little duckling and performs her mothering role to perfection, but Drake is dumbstruck and isolates his son in a cruel and callous way.
This hard-hearted attitude was only to be matched much later than Andersen with the exploits of Napoleon in Animal Farm.
However, the musical - a definite must for children - lacked a certain something during the first half.
But towards the interval the spirits were lifted by a superb and innovative routine by the wild geese, which practically received a standing ovation from the audience.
The second half was a different story and as Ugly made his metamorphosis into a handsome swan, Act 2 was transformed into a tremendous production, catapulting the audience into total elation.
I don't think it would be a generalisation to say the Honk is an extremely touching musical and I wonder if there were many women who didn't feel immensely proud alongside Ida when Ugly swept up into the air.
Norman Pace was first rate in his role as the bullfrog, delivering some of his Hale and Pace uniqueness into the role.
Clive Rowe was excellent as the shifty gangster cat. He almost looked like a cartoon character and persisted in turning up like a bad penny.
This was an uplifting performance and Honk is a perfect night out for the family.
Lisa Porter
Telegraph and Argus (Bradford)
Wednesday 16th. May 2001
REVIEW: Show based on 'Ugly Duckling' entrances - whatever your age.
(pictured: LOVELY STUFF: Richard Dempsey as Ugly and Norman Pace as Drake in the production of Honk at the Alhambra.
Magic overcomes my resistance
Honk The Alhambra
An evening at the theatre can be a magical experience which never ceases to amaze, whatever age you reach. When it works, it persuades you to suspend disbelief, cast aside cynicism, and allow
yourself to be drawn into a world of fantasy.
And Honk works, believe me. I didn't think it was going to at first. I fought against it. After all, I've been around for nearly six decades. Who was I to be impressed with a musical tale based on
Hans Christian Andersen's story of the Ugly Duckling?
It might be colourfully staged and briskly directed. It might be performed by an outstanding cast of talented and versatile all-rounders. But basically, it's kids' stuff innit?
And indeed it is. The children in the auditorium seemed entranced with it. But it's also grown-ups' stuff as well once you let that magic work on you.
Towards the end of the first half, when the geese in the form of gung-ho RAF fliers took off from the pond, only to meet the gunshot of the human hunters, all residual resistance melted away.
As a feather drifted down on to the stage to be caught by Ugly, the duckling eventually to become a swan, I have to confess that my cheek felt damp.
The second half won me over completely. There is some terrific ensemble playing in this show, with members of the company taking on a variety of animal roles while wearing human clothes. The
production numbers work wonderfully. The songs impress - although by and large they're not the sort you emerge from the theatre humming to yourself.
Richard Dempsey is an engaging Ugly. Norman Pace, pursuing the solo side of his career, is a laddish Drake (Ugly's surrogate father) as well as a gloriously comedic Bullfrog. And Tracie Bennett
leaves Corrie's Sharon far behind as she struts her stuff splendidly and touchingly as Ugly's mum.
But the biggest cheer at the end of the night went to Clive Rowe, whose Cat is a rich, ripe, comic creation.
Mike Priestley
Nottingham Evening Post Wednesday 9th. May 2001
First night with Jeremy Lewis
(pictured: GAG MASTER: Norman Pace with Holly Chadwick, nine, and Puddly the duck, during rehearsals for Honk!, which opened at the Theatre Royal last night.
The puns will drive you totally quackers
Like the cygnet who thinks he's a duckling, an identity question hangs over Honk!, the dreadfully-named show inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's confused young swan.
It is unmistakeably a musical, although George Stiles's melodies are pleasant rather than unforgettable.
But is it a musical for adults, or for kids?.
"Both," according to one respected judge at yesterday's first night media reception. "It's a family show."
I'm not so sure. There isn't enough here for grown-ups; no emotional pull, nor any 'idea' apart from the point that it's OK to be different.
When turkeys invade the stage there is a gag about stuffing which might not be right for the tenderest ears. Otherwise Julia McKenzie's staging for the Royal National Theatre could be presented to
youngsters up to mid-teens, and they'd love the whole innocent thing.
Honk! may not be gripping stuff. But it is gorgeous to look at, full of inventive design (Peter McKintosh) and clever movement (Aletta Collins) and so loaded with raw charm that it is hard to
whinge even about writer Anthony Drewe's puns.
For example, the ducklings point to the huge, late-to-hatch egg in their nest and ask: "What's mama laid?"
The answer: "It's an orange preserve sometimes found on toast."
The big costume theme? Shiny, knee-high Dr. Martens boots, which are colour coded according to the characters' species.
Ornithologists in the dress circle will spot the ducks by their orange and yellow footwear, and turkeys by their red. The swans wear the original black Docs. I can't vouch for the geese because their
boots were hidden by pink gaiters.
Richard Dempsey is the gawky, angular Ugly Duckling. He can act and dance and you'll hear worse singing, although the voice in this show is that of Tracie Bennett as his devoted mother Ida Duck (I
know, readers; but blame Drewe not me).
The gags are left to Norman Pace, who is steady as papa quacker but simply wonderful as the bullfrog who leads the daft, green-suited amphibians in the funniest number of the night, Warts and
All.
He is matched by Clive Rowe as the feline who constantly tries to get Ugly into what he calls his kitty-cat's snack shack.
For a big man, Rowe is some mover. Dapper in pinstripes and spats, he mischievously ensures that things don't get too soppy.
The Northern Echo
Thursday 3rd. May 2001
CRITICS
(pictured: Norman Pace: not in the least bit tacky, in Honk!
Honk! Forum Theatre, Billingham
Winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for the best new musical of 2000, Honk! is a lively, tuneful, funny and vastly enjoyable slice of family entertainment. It's based on the Hans Christian Andersen
tale about the Ugly Duckling, so there's a moral in there too.
Norman Pace, free of the tacky persona he assumes in partnership with Gareth Hale, is engaging and his singing voice is rather good. Tracie Bennett, of Corrie fame, has a strong singing voice too and
gives a cheeky performance as Ugly's mum. Clive Rowe plays the eminently hissable villain, a smoothychops cat in pinstripes who spends the entire show trying to eat our hero.
The company appears to range in age from about twelve up to baby boomers, but all are enthusiastic, likeable and talented. The whole production, brought to Billingham through partnership from
Barclays Stage Partners, is polished and professional, yet somehow retains a rare freshness and naivety.
The musical numbers are pleasing, without being particularly memorable, and the lyrics are sharp, colloquial and funny - but avoid the toilet humour that seems to pass for wit, in many 'family'
shows. The choreography is great, especially the froggy dance in "Warts and All".
Richard Dempsey as Ugly is outstanding, making the character vulnerable and appealing when it could have been ridiculous ("Aah, bless 'im," said the lady behind me). He makes a wonderful transition
from ugly duckling, in baggy school uniform, to supercool swan all in white, with calf-length DMs and wraparound shades.
"Mama," says the lost duckling urgently when he sees his mum on TV, and I actually felt a little tug on the heartstrings. Yes, it's cute, but it's British cute.
Grab your kids, or somebody else's if you don't have any, and get along to the Forum. Take your granny too - she'll enjoy the youngsters tap-dancing, expertly, in flippers.
Sue Heath.
Hartlepool Mail
Wednesday 2nd. May 2001
Musical is worth crowing about.
REVIEW HONK, BILLINGHAM FORUM
MY SON is at the age when anything labelled 'family' entertainment to him suggests 'boring'.
So I have to admit it was with a little scepticism that I took him, and his generally more appreciative younger sister, to see the award-winning musical Honk.
I thought I was in a no-lose situation though... if he liked it, great, and if he didn't, at least I could use it as a threat in the future. "Clean your room... or I'll take you to see Honk
again!"
As it was, I need have no worries. Honk, an exhilarating adaptation of the favourite Hans Christian Andersen tale of the Ugly Duckling, is an absolute triumph, and it truly is for all ages...
including my soon-to-be teenage son.
Last year, the Julia McKenzie-directed show fought off all its West End rivals to scoop the much-coveted Olivier Award for Best Musical.
And that is no mean feat when you consider the marvellous shows on offer in the capital.
The original songs have you tapping your feet, the wisecracks make you laugh out loud and the cast, including Norman Pace (the clean-shaven half of the comedy duo) - who produces a wonderful cameo of
a frog - is superb.
I've been lucky enough to see some great West End and Broadway shows, and Honk is right up there with the best.
It runs at the Forum until Sunday.
Julie M. Gibson.
Evening Gazette - Middlesborough
Wednesday 2nd. May 2001
Quacker of a show
What: Honk
Where: Forum Theatre, Billingham
When: Until Sunday
Verdict: You'd be quackers to miss it.
THE best thing I've ever seen", "Honk! That was great," "Honk, Very good, enjoyed it," "Honk honk, hoooonk."
Just a few of the comments passed by theatregoers leaving the Forum after the first night of Honk, a show the theatre reckons is the biggest it's ever staged.
Everyone knows Hans Christian Andersen's story of the ugly duckling that grew into a beautiful swan and this is it, so don't be fooled by the peculiar title.
It's set around the duckyard and starts when mother duck Ida - played by ex-Corrie star Tracie Bennett - is waiting for her precious eggs to hatch. One of them is different from the rest and therein
lies the moral of the whole tale.
He may have been born ugly, he may be gangly, he may have a very odd sounding quack - but it doesn't matter.
In any case, the happy ending for Richard Dempsey's poor, lost Ugly had the opening night audience clapping for all they were worth.
It's easy to see why this musical is an award winner. The cast - also including Norman Pace - was great, the songs cracking.
You'll enjoy the bullfrog's scene, the very funny wild goose chase and the cat.
So if you're a musical fan... honk!
Joanne Welford.
Evening Express - Aberdeen
Wednesday 26th April 2001
Honk is a stonker
SONJA RASMUSSEN saw Honk! at His Majesty's Theatre
Theatre Review
Honk! is the musical comedy which edged out The Lion King and Mama Mia to win the Laurence Olivier Award.
Did it deserve it? Yes, is the easy answer, judging by last night's warm reception.
Hans Christian Andersen's story, the Ugly Duckling, takes on a new lease of life in this modern adaptation, providing a treat for musical lovers young and old - and director Julia McKenzie's
production is as fresh as the day it was hatched.
There's comedy by the bucket-load, much of which soars straight over the kid's heads and hits the adults between the eyes, along with romance, laughter, and yes, the occasional tear.
With a sparkling Tracie Bennett and Norman Pace in a double role, Honk! is new, fresh and exciting in every way.
(pictured:- TRACIE BENNETT: Stars in Honk!)
The Press and Journal - Aberdeen
Wednesday 26th April 2001
REVIEW by Roddy Philips
Ugly Duckling tale is neither fish nor fowl.
NOBODY believed me when I said I was going to see a musical about ducks.
Judging by the look of Honk!, which opened at HM Theatre last night, I barely believed it myself.
This is a musical version of Hans Christian Anderson's tale The Ugly Duckling, but there's not a feather or a beak in sight. Instead the duck pond is populated with comically dressed, wacky
people.
Which is fine if you're an adult but not particularly interesting if you are eight years old.
Basically Honk! is a triumph of style over substance and neither fish nor fowl. However, it is beautifully designed and well performed, although Norman Pace - the second half of Hale and Pace - is
happier playing a frog than a drake.
Tracie Bennett, late of Coronation Street, is excellent as the duck whose ugly offspring looks and dances like a Billy Elliot and Clive Rowe makes a marvellous sinister cat.
Honk! runs at HM Theatre until Saturday.
South Wales Echo
Wednesday April 18th 2001
Theatre Review by Sandra Loy
Honk!, New Theatre, Cardiff
Do yourself a favour this Easter holiday and head for Honk! at the New Theatre. Even better, take the kids with you.
After all, it is meant to be a family show, but I'll bet adults will get just as much out of it.
You see, it's that kind of show. The kids will love the music, colourful designs and ingenious staging. You'll love the over-their-heads humour.
Moulded around the Hans Christian Anderson's Ugly Duckling Honk! is a simple fable with a message. But don't expect any beaks and feathers - the leading characters may be ducks, geese and swans, but
they're played by humans, and splendidly so in Julia McKenzie's award-winning National Theatre production.
Tracie Bennett is a joy to watch as the doting mother duck Ida, a natural-born stage performer who will be a revelation to those who know her best as Corrie's Sharon; Richard Dempsey is the gangliest
thing you've ever seen as Ugly, the duckling who doesn't fit in and I loved Clive Rowe's dapper dandy of a predatory cat whose heart is set on having Ugly for lunch (Hello, ducky!").
Great songs, cheesy gags and some gorgeous production numbers - like the Busby Berkeley-style froglets' chorus that warm the coldest of hearts.
Honk! is at the New Theatre until Saturday.
The Stage & Television Today
Thursday April 12th 2001
(pictured: Richard Dempsey) Splendid - Richard Dempsey in Honk! at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth. Picture: Sean Hernon.
Plymouth / Touring
Honk! Pond life is no different to any other life - full of trials and tribulations. And if you happen to be the odd duck out those tribulations mount up.
This revised version of the award-winning musical by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe shines as bright as a dragonfly at the Theatre Royal. Director Julia McKenzie has created a riveting, upbeat
production based on Hans Christian Andersen's enduring fable that is awash with colour and pzazz.
Tracie Bennett makes a sympathetic Ida, coping with her feather-brained Drake (Norman Pace) and defending her bizarre hatchling from the callousness of others.
As the unloved Ugly, Richard Dempsey is a splendid mix of hurt and over-riding enthusiasm for his brave new world. An unwitting swan in civvies, his adventures on the farm lead us through an evening
of song, delightfully choreographed routines and side-splitting comedy.
Clive Rowe's conniving Cat, who has singled out Ugly for 'duck a l'orange', is an hilariously machiavellian moggie - never more so than in the seduction scene with the feline spinster Queenie
(Lindsey Dawson).
As well as his posturing as Duck, Pace excels as Bullfrog. His music hall delivery of Warts and All accompanied by a troupe of froglets in a Busby Berkeley routine is sheer magic.
The bumbling flight preparations of a squadron of well-intentioned wild geese kitted out in RAF uniforms is another comic highlight.
There is no need for feathers and beaks to underline who is what once our eyes adjust to the kaleidoscope of colourful characters - a whisker for the cat, orange lace-up boots for the ducks and a
grey flannel blazer and cap for Ugly. Here is a vibrant celebration about being different that is a winner for everyone.
Roger Malone.
The Citizen - Milton Keynes
Thursday April 12th 2001
(pictured are: Katie Hudson, Tracie Bennett, Kai Pearce, Ben Evans and Dena McCullagh)
(pictured are: Richard Dempsey as Ugly and Norman Pace as Bullfrog in Honk! Pictures: Sean Hernon)
Honk's a hoot for the family!
The Olivier Award winning smash Honk! is a hit from start to finish with its stunning use of lighting and other visual surprises.
This likeable tale follows Hans Christian Andersen's classic about an ugly duckling but with a new sharper edge that breathes comedy and wonder.
Norman Pace, who this time left comedy sidekick Gareth Hale at home, plays the Drake and the hilarious green-eyed Bullfrog in the romp where everyone seems to wear bright orange Dr. Martens.
You'll see giant eggs crack open to reveal baby ducks, geese masquerading as an RAF crew, beautiful schools of fish and much more.
For fans of Coronation Street look out for another Olivier Award winner Tracie Bennett playing the mother to four little ducklings and of course the star of the show the Turkey - which is actually a
swan.
Confused? Well you won't be for too long as all is gradually revealed in this two-hour show jam-packed with show-stopping songs, but don't worry - there's no cranberry sauce!
Just beware of the fisherman's net and hook as well as the brilliant Clive Rowe playing a cute but cunning fat cat who's always out for his turkey.
Honk! runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday with shows nightly at 7.30pm and matinees on Thursday and the final day at 2.30pm. Tickets are from £8 - call the Box Office on MK 606090.
Herald Express - Torquay
Tuesday April 3rd. 2001
Honk reaches height of hilarity
Review: Honk! Theatre Royal, Plymouth
It's a classic story of transcendence and self-belief, of the triumph of the soul.
No, it's not Saint Joan or the Passion, it's the Ugly Duckling - but not as we know it, Jim.
Hans Christian Andersen's fable has been given the odd twist or two in this touring version of the Royal National Theatre's smash-hit award-winning musical.
For a start, I bet Hans never envisaged Corrie's Tracie Bennett and Norman Pace of Hale and... fame in the roles of the pulchritudinally challenged fowl's parents.
Yet this is a totally flawless, utterly brilliant show which manages to communicate the pathos and loneliness of its protagonist while at the same time keeping us in stitches with its wit and warmth
of heart.
Set and costume designs of fabulous invention by Peter McKintosh are real candy for the eye: and nothing looks out of place. This is a production of complete integrity.
While the stage is dressed in primary, nursery colours fringed by huge bullrushes, the eccentrically costumed characters seem to fit right in: a wonderful pin-striped cat from the well rounded Clive
Rowe, a turkey schoolmaster straight out of a Just William novel, and an RAF squadron gaggle of geese with the stiffest of upper beaks, complete with flying helmets, goggles and Battle of Britain
puttees.
Perfect pairing
The music and lyrics are of a quality that belittles superlatives, all performed faultlessly. Bennett and Pace make a perfect pairing, meanwhile, with the Coronation Street star's planet-sized talent
fully in evidence.
Ms. Bennett can switch from kooky gagster to tear-inducing depth of feeling in an instant, while Norman, who also plays a morale-boosting bullfrog, shines in the set pieces.
Warts and All, sung by Bullfrog, Ugly and the Froglets, is so uplifting the audience might have suffered from altitude sickness, and it induced gasps across the board as it metamorphosed into a
joyous Busby Berkeley set piece complete with hoop-waving tadpole chorus line.
The velvet-tongued Richard Dempsey completed the strong line-up of main players, but every scene oozed detail and humour.
I'll never forget the scene inside the cottage where comfort-loving domestic cat Queenie, a role rightly relished by Lindsey Dawson, is courted seductively by Clive Rowe's farmyard tom.
Priceless.
Hypnotised
While the adults in the audience were falling about laughing, the youngsters were hypnotised by the visual and musical brilliance of this fantasy.
My three-year-old daughter wanted to see it again -- immediately.
There were, undeservedly - spare seats on Friday for this show. This is the best thing I've seen so far this year and there aren't enough superlatives in the thesaurus to do it justice.
My advice? Do anything, that's anything, for a ticket and take the family. Honk! will put a smile on your faces that will last for months.
Honk! runs at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth until April 7.
John Clamp
Exeter Express and Echo
Friday April 6th. 2001
Honk! Plymouth Theatre Royal until April 7
GOOD fun, good songs and good entertainment for the family. That's what you get in Honk! the colourful and likeable updated version of Hans Christian Andersen's Ugly Duckling story.
This is a Royal National Theatre production out on national tour. It's aimed squarely at children but is at the opposite end of the scale from the Roald Dahl type of thing. It's warm hearted, and
says you should accept people even if they are different. Very politically correct. But it's telling that the Ugly Duckling only really gets loved by anybody other than his mother when he becomes a
beautiful swan. What about those of us fated never to undergo such a radical transformation?
The show is written by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe and it's good to have writers who don't think of a melody as something sinful.
There is a smashing - and large - cast. Norman Pace, best known as a TV comedian, plays the jack-the-lad dad duck, but also does a terrific turn as a bullfrog who knows looks are not everything.
Tracie Bennett is a feisty and fun mum duck, but outstanding is Clive Rowe as the cat who thinks an ugly duckling dinner would be beautiful.
The pace doesn't always crack along and the story is thin in places. But then there are some great set pieces including a show stopping Busby Berkley type scene and a terrific camp pair of old women
animals who help the duckling out.
It's good clean family fun.
David Marston
Plymouth EXTRA
Thursday April 5th. 2001
Theatre Review
HAVE A GANDER AT THIS SHOW
Honk! Theatre Royal
AN adaptation of the classic Hans Andersen tale The Ugly Duckling, award-winning musical comedy Honk! (sponsored by Barclays Stage Partners) hits town following a sell-out London season.
It's great family fun with plenty of hummable tunes, jokes and puns, and that theme common to animals and humans - mother love.
There was no pantomime horse-style dressing up in fur and feathers, the costumes were of the everyday sort, yet still managed to convey the bird and animal characters.
These included Ugly, an oversized gawky lad dressed in schoolboy grey who appealingly portrays that other theme of 'It's not how you look, it's what's inside that counts; macho patriarch Drake, who
sees the other side of family life when he becomes a one-parent family; and Eider - sorry, Ida - whose search for her much-loved son (He's not ugly; he's special') brings great rewards
Everyone particularly liked the villain - cunning, campy 'Hello Ducky' Cat, whose gluttony is victorious over his sexual appetite. And the scene with the frogs was just delightful - Kermit would be
so jealous!. It's smashing to see a family show outside the Christmas period.
Linda Haston.
Western Morning News
Tuesday April 3rd. 2001
Arts Review
Jemima Laing
SWAN SONG IS THE CAT'S WHISKERS
Honk! Theatre Royal, Plymouth
Honk! is the Olivier Award-winning musical retelling of the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale of the Ugly Duckling and is written by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe and directed by Julia
McKenzie
And although Richard Dempsey, excellent as Ugly, has a pure voice which captures the loneliness and isolation of a young person taunted because of his appearance, it is Clive Rowe as Cat, who steals
every scene in which he appears.
As the caddish cat intent on making a meal of Ugly before he even gets the chance to turn into a swan, he dominates proceedings. He finds a fine foil in Lindsey Dawson as Queenie when they enjoy a
feline flirtation and she in turn enjoys an effective pairing with Marilyn Cutts as a social-climbing chicken called Lowbutt.
Those who only know Tracie Bennett, who plays Ugly's mother Ida, from Coronation Street may be surprised at her impressive voice which carries her through the journey to find her lost son while fans
of Norman Pace, who plays the dual roles of Ida's husband Drake and Bullfrog, really have to wait until the second act for his opportunity to give rein to his comic talents.
The show ranges from scenes of high comedy verging on pantomime to a sentimental study of the more serious themes of discrimination and the maternal bond.
A script punctuated by a stream of corny puns seemed to hit the mark with the younger members of the audience and overall the show is a family entertainment which seeks to celebrate difference in all
its forms.
PLYMOUTH Evening Herald Monday 2nd. April 2001
JOYOUS TREAT FOR ALL INNOCENTS
Honk!
Theatre Royal
Until Saturday
For this review I am pulling out all the superlatives. Elaborated from Andersen's story of the Ugly Duckling, and set in a colourful storybook duck yard, this captivating tale blends naivety with
cleverness to delight children and grown-ups equally.
I've not had so much fun for a long time.
George Stile's bouncy or sentimental melodies are eminently hummable, even if some of his puns make you groan.
The characters are from the animal kingdom - but there is no attempt in dressing up the players to resemble the creatures they portray. Costume is far more subtle than that.
Julia McKenzie's production is full of terrific sequences, and the cast oozes talent. Richard Dempsey is the aesthetically challenged Ugly, Tracie Bennett his mother Ida, Clive Rowe as the cat who
thinks only of duck a l'orange, and Norman Pace as Ida's layabout husband, Drake - doubling as the vaudevillian Bullfrog.
Michael McLean, Lindsey Dawson and Marilyn Cutts also shine, but this is a uniformly-fine ensemble.
The show's message - that bullying and prejudice are unacceptable, and that it is OK to be different - is wrapped in an irresistible packaging. Leave your sophistication outside. this is a joyous
treat for innocents of all ages. Tremendous.
BILL STONE
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