Thursday, March 28

REVIEWS

Beyond Ourselves – Union Theatre
London

Beyond Ourselves – Union Theatre

Beyond Ourselves is a new piece of writing, aiming to highlight the challenges for drama graduates and ‘the obstacles they face and the drive and determination to overcome them’. This hopeful premise prompted a personal and emotional response. It’s not just my story, but the woeful narrative of most of my friends. Not only do I have a dog in this fight, my life has been nothing but a canine battle to a symphony of yaps, howls and sighs.  Despite heartfelt sympathies and an abundance of experience, my expectations for Beyond Ourselves were low. The thought of giddy drama kids doing high-kicks and forlorn soliloquies sent shivers down my wizened spine. It’s entirely possible that the failures and odd diversions of my own career swayed my judgement. It was a curdled mix of grim curio...
Rogers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella – Waterside Arts Centre
North West

Rogers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella – Waterside Arts Centre

Junior Stage 80 (JS80) presented their adaptation of the classic Rogers + Hammerstein’s ‘Cinderella’ at the beautiful Waterside Arts Centre. It was clear from the buzzing audience that there were many family members and friends of the cast present for the opening night. I hadn’t heard of Junior Stage 80 before this evening, but I believe it to be a well-established group with over 37 previous productions dating from 1985. Julie Besbrode and Tanya Temkin are the JS80 producers who state in the brochure that: “Community is at the heart of JS80 and it always has been and will remain so. It is one of their key founding principles and what glues them together. Their rehearsals are a microcosm of the wider Jewish community where they gather twice weekly for 6 months of the year, as one bi...
Breaking the Castle – Old Red Lion Theatre
North West

Breaking the Castle – Old Red Lion Theatre

There must be something special about a one-man show relating to addiction and mental illness if it has toured multiple venues across Australia and the UK. With outstanding reviews and audiences engaging with the show, it is clear that the dark, heavy and sensitive themes of the play are skillfully dealt with by writer and actor Peter Cook. The audience enters to a stage littered with some props, chairs and stools. These are creatively used across the settings that the play traverses through. Cook is a great storyteller, both with his words and performance. He tirelessly braves through the 75-minute play, sharing his own experiences with addiction and rehabilitation through the fictionalised character of David. The writing is crisp and conversational - and in a space as intimate as the...
Dirty Dancing – Hull New Theatre
Yorkshire & Humber

Dirty Dancing – Hull New Theatre

The first couple of minutes of Dirty Dancing, at the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday night, was in the dark - had the spotlights failed? It soon became apparent the darkness was on purpose and it made the sudden burst of colour that followed even more memorable and exciting. And the excitement lasted until the very last - make that lasting - standing ovation for a production that is nothing short of perfect. We in the packed theatre were transported back to 1963 America and Kellerman’s Holiday Resort. Regular visitors to the resort are Dr Jake Houseman (Jack Loy), his wife Marjorie (Taryn Sudding) and daughters, Lisa (Daisy Steere) and Frances “Baby” (Kira Malou). At 16 or 17 years of age, Baby really is the baby of the family - but, boy, she certainly grows up thanks to Keller...
Life of Pi – Bradford Alhambra
Yorkshire & Humber

Life of Pi – Bradford Alhambra

When Yann Martel wrote the mega selling Life of Pi he probably thought it too technically challenging for it ever to become an Olivier winning play, but thanks to the magic of puppetry this epic tale of one man lost on a raft with only a Bengal Tiger for company really works onstage. Life of Pi was such a hit with over ten million readers worldwide that then U.S. President Barack Obama wrote to Martel describing his novel as ‘an elegant proof of God, and the power of storytelling.’  Obama didn’t specify which God, although most deities get a namecheck here, and you don’t need to believe in a higher power to enjoy Life of Pi. The former President was spot on about the storytelling as aside from the forest of allegories this is a rip-roaring theatrical experience, albeit one wi...
The Mousetrap – Floral Pavilion
North West

The Mousetrap – Floral Pavilion

What do you get when you combine masterful storytelling and captivating characters? Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, that's what! The world's longest running play - currently 70yrs old - is still going strong, thrilling theatres and keeping audiences on their toes. It's a classic. Lights dim and the curtains pull back on a stupendously wide set. Time rolls back to reveal the living room of a guesthouse in 1950s England, the ideal setting for a good old-fashioned whodunnit to take place. Christie's unparalleled ability to craft a suspenseful and engaging narrative quickly makes its impact felt. There is a chilling atmosphere of intrigue and mystery from the very first scene. As the tension builds and secrets unravel, the audience is on the edge of their seats, eagerly anticipating th...
Phantasmagoria – Southwark Playhouse
London

Phantasmagoria – Southwark Playhouse

An activist and politician meet in a forest guest house, here they partake in a closed debate ran by Jai (Antony Bunsee) who wishes to relaunch his career with his new channel following a very anticipated and most likely heated debate between the two. Activist, Mehrosh (Hussina Rama) enters anxiously as she never intended to become as admired as she is and in this has lost control of her security. The politician, Bina (Tania Rodrigues) enters with assistant Scherezade (Ulrika Krishnamurti) confident in her ability to intimidate this young woman until she’s squeezed dry of any lingering confidence she might have left. Bina’s goal is to ‘convert’ Mehrosh from activist to politician through threats to family and the promise of safe security. Mehrosh is disgusted by the fake glamour of politi...
The Bodyguard – Opera House, Blackpool
North West

The Bodyguard – Opera House, Blackpool

What a fantastic night at Winter Gardens, Blackpool, at the opening performance of The Bodyguard Musical, Based on the 1992 Oscar nominated movie of the same name, starring the household names Kevin Costner and the late great Whitney Houston in the leading roles. The West End production was nominated for 4 Olivier awards and was followed by a sell-out 18-month UK and Ireland tour. The show has played to over 3.6 million people in 15 countries and 45 US cities. Producers, Michael Harrison and David Ian alongside director Thea Sharrock brought us a dazzling line up of talent and a show that sells itself with a score full of Houston’s greatest hits. The story tells of a vocal superstar Rachel Marron, who is dealing with an unknown stalker. Frank Farmer, former Secret Service agent i...
Yerma: National Theatre Live – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse
REVIEWS

Yerma: National Theatre Live – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

In 2017 Billie Piper’s much lauded performance in Simon Stone’s adaptation of Lorca’s Yerma resulted in her scooping several best actress awards. The opportunity to see this production and much Piper’s written of performance came in the form of an NT Live screening at Altrincham’s Garrick Theatre and I am genuinely thrilled I went. The play opens with Her (Piper) and her husband John (Brendan Cowell) celebrating the purchase of their first home together in London. Life is going well for them. She is in her early thirties and is a successful lifestyle blogger and he is in his early forties and enjoying growing success and significant worldwide travel for the business he has started with her support. Their plans for the future are taking shape and this large empty new home awaits the lif...
The Signalman – Metal Culture, Liverpool
North West

The Signalman – Metal Culture, Liverpool

From ArtsGroupie, the producers of Kitty: Queen of the Washhouse and A Portrait of William Roscoe, comes a slice of winter terror with a new adaptation from David Griffiths, who also directs, of the much-loved Charles Dickens supernatural classic, The Signalman. Following the arrival of a somewhat lost and larger than life visitor (John Maguire) at a remote signal box on a dark winter night, the solitary railway signalman (Zoran Blackie) tells him of a spectre that has been haunting him with each appearance preceding a tragic event on the railway on which the signalman works, a deep cutting near a tunnel entrance on a lonely stretch of the railway line where he controls the movement of the passing trains and is alerted to danger by his fellow signalmen via the telegraph and alarms. ...