Chatterbox - still talking nonsense

Bryan Cranston, Paapa Essiedu, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Hayley Squires are the core of the cast assembled for this revival of Arthur Miller's family drama about the sins of the fathers coming back to haunt their children.  It's overlaid with a critique about money grabbing bosses taking opportunities in a time of national crisis to make a quick buck regardless of the harm it may do. So, it may be over 75 years old now, but with so many modern resonances; certainly I was thinking about the Michelle Mone and other Covid scandals.   I liked that this production doesn’t try to force the point though, which is clear enough, without needing to set it in a modern context.   The production really struck gold with this cast.  Essiedu and Cranston are a powerhouse duo, and the whole ensemble are just magnificent.  Bryan Cranston plays Joe Keller, the bluff, jovial, proud master of industry wanting to leave a legacy for his remaining son.  Marianne Jean-Ba...

 A musical about mental illness, this is the latest in a bit of a run recently in plays dealing with this topic.  In this one, Diana and Dan, with their two teenage children, seem like a normal American family living in their swish, glossy house, but it becomes clear that Diana is struggling to manage her bi-polar disorder and there is a family tragedy and grief lying just below the surface and about to come roaring out despite their ever more frantic attempts to keep everything ‘normal’.  With a great live band and some catchy rock,pop and ballad numbers it pretty much steams along with great vocal performances throughout.  The exploration of the treatment for mental health conditions feels pretty American.  Where are the waiting lists and delays? Instead we see bucketloads of drugs being handed over with seemingly little thought as to their consequences.  At its heart,  this is a moving family drama, looking at the effects of poor mental health and g...