Double Trouble: Mozart & Bach at Customs House

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Posted 2021-06-21 by Gypsy Rose ⇒ follow

Fri 18 Jun 2021 - Sun 20 Jun 2021

The double bill plays Double Trouble- Mozart & Bach was packed with opera music, love, laughter, and coffee!

Christine Logan directed Double Trouble. Peter Alexander conducted the orchestra with Stevie Walter on the keyboard, Isabeau Hanson on Flute, Rebecca Irwin, Violin 1 and Jennifer Taylor Violin 2, Greg Ford on Viola, and Pierre Emery on Cello.

This cheeky double bill transformed the heritage Barnet Long Room in Customs House into a wonderland of superb music and performance in an intimate setting.

The plays were based on two of the greatest composers, with both Mozart and Bach being influenced by the woman in their lives.

The first play, Mozart's early opera romance Bastien & Bastienna, featured Bastienna (Lesley Braithwaite), Bastien (Damien Hall), Dr Colas (Ed Shuttle), and Rich Woman (Karen Lambert).

The operatic romp, Bastien & Bastienna, is set in the 1950s and showcased two countryside lovers. Bastien loves materialism and rich women. He cheats on Bastienna with a rich woman, and Bastienna is madly in love with him and wants Bastien back.

She visits Dr Colas, who helps her to try to get Bastien back.
Bastien also sees Dr Colas as he realises he has lost Bastienna, and he wants her back!

The performance featured laugh out loud moments with witty comments, especially from Dr Colas.

Coffee Cantata featured Lesley Braithwaite as the Daughter, Damien Hall as the Barman and Ed Shuttle as the Father.

This modern adaption showcased Bach's poking fun at the temptations of coffee through the power struggle between a grumpy father and his coffee-addicted rebellious daughter. This comedy was tweaked a little to add an occasional 'espresso martini' to be relatable to 21st-century parents.

The father and naughty daughter are both given two brilliant arias in where they tell the audience all about themselves. The barman eventually steps in, and reconciliation takes place. The audience is then taken on an emotional journey.

Both performances featured an overhead projector to set the scene, which captured the ambience of the times in which each piece took place.

Overall, the cast did a spectacular job showcasing the mischievous mayhem by Mozart and Bach, and it was a delight to watch spectacular performers own the stage!