Soweto Gospel Choir

On what was something of a change for us, off to the New Theatre at Wimbledon yesterday to hear the Soweto Gospel Choir on the first leg of their UK tour. They had flown in from Stockholm earlier in the day, were busing it up to Gateshead (in the far north) later in the day and with about 11 shows in not that many more days, it must be a grind that takes some getting used to.

About 25 of them on stage altogether, slightly more men than women and including the small number of musicians. An ensemble affair: some of them were more equal than others but they all took their turns. Vaguely traditional costumes, rather good, with one change during the interval. Some of the ladies of traditional shape. Front music traditional but with a keyboard lurking at the back, becoming more important as the show proceeded. Language mainly traditional.

Audience mainly white and middle aged, but with a good sprinkling of young people and blacks. The very smart couple next to us were probably from Africa direct rather than via the West Indies, South Africa rather than West Africa, and were quite happy to laugh and joke through the proceedings, which all seemed OK in a way that it would not be at the Wigmore Hall. The lady was also into much dancing on the spot when it came to the standing up part at the end. I found it hard to keep time, so settled for backwards and forwards rather than side to side.

High impact opening, with me being always very susceptible to adult choirs singing more or less in unison; a rather different kettle of fish from the choir boys of the likes of King's College chapel, although some of the solo voices could have done with a bit more of their sort of training. But the impact faded as the performance went on; as with our own folk music, there is not enough going on to carry you through long periods.

That said, all very physical and immediate and would, I imagine, do even better in a more collective, participatory & intimate format than the them and us of a large proscenium arch theatre - perhaps in the churches of their beginnings. You might have a choir out front but the congregation do join in the easy bits, perhaps more often than is allowed in King's College festivals of carols. There was also a fair topping of humour, mainly from the men, which nicely spiced up the proceedings; not quite a po-faced as an Anglo choir.

The theatre looked to have been restored in the not too distant past with some very theatrical paintings on the ceilings, larger scale versions of those on the ceiling of the 'Tottenham', just across the road from Tottenham Court Road tube station. A handsome place but essentially an empty shell, used by ATG for travelling shows rather than being a full blow theatre in its own right and with not a Chekhov or a Frayn in sight on their autumn programme. They don't even seem to run to their own web site. On the other hand, their bar was surprisingly cheap for a theatre bar and I was given a large Martell in a plastic glass for the modest sum of £3.60. No more, I should imagine, than the Wetherspoon's across the road, a Wetherspoon's which I remember as being something of a soaks' bar on weekday evenings, those being the times on which I used occasionally to visit, but busy and decent enough, mainly for eating purposes, when we visited before the show.

PS: The Tottenham does still exist, although no web site despite its central location. It seems to have become a member of the Nicholson family. See http://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk. Along the way I also came across an outfit called http://www.smoke-spots.co.uk/, the first site to confirm the continuing existence of the place.