Donna M Day, Author at North West End UK

17Aug

By Donna M DayNo Comments

London

Tree Confessions – Camden Fringe

Tree Confessions, written by Jenny Lyn Bader, and directed by E B Mee, is a unique audio play told entirely from the point of view of a tree. Performed by Kathleen Chalfant, this is a site-specific piece which should be listened to while sitting beneath a tree. The piece begins with a buzzing and humming sound, reminiscent of bees. The story is told by a single tree, who is embarrassed to be caught humming to itself, but takes the opportunity to tell the story of a scientist who discovered that trees communicate, with each other at least. Presumably inspired by the story of Suzanne Simard, the persistent scientist is never actually specifically identified, but the trees, admiring her determination to prove her theory right, and being keen to seize the chance to help humans save the p...

16Aug

By Donna M DayNo Comments

REVIEWS

Lear Alone – Scenesaver

Lear Alone is a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, using only King Lear’s lines in a unique performance set across five short episodes. Directed by Anthony Shrubsall and performed by Edmund Dehn this original show explores themes of ageing in today’s world, the increasingly problematic issue of homelessness, and isolation and its effects on mental health. The show opens with Dehn sitting alone and obviously unhappy on a bench. Birdsong is prominent and Dehn begins to walk around the building whose grounds he is in, surreptitiously peering through the windows before beginning his first monologue, in which Lear is asking his daughters to describe the amount of love that they have for him to enable him to decide how to split the kingdom. Dehn has excellent presence, and it is ea...

Falling in Love with Mr Dellamort – Broadway Podcast Network

12Aug

By Donna M DayNo Comments

REVIEWS

Falling in Love with Mr Dellamort – Broadway Podcast Network

Falling in Love with Mr Dellamort, written by Jack Feldstein (book and lyrics) and Paul Doust (music and lyrics), and directed by Ella Jane New, is an original Gothic dark comedy musical, which tells the story of the enigmatic and charming Mr Dellamort (James Monroe Iglehart) and his beautiful beachside South Carolina Guest House, Maison Dellamort. Shortly after Christmas, three unhappy people receive an unexpected invitation to spend the time between Christmas and New Year at Maison Dellamort. They are Barry Scott (Telly Leung), an enthusiastic fitness fanatic, Mina Thompson (Jackie Hoffman), a lonely serial divorcee, and Rhonda Lipson (Lena Hall) who is struggling with drug addiction. All three jump at the chance to escape their mundane lives and quickly fall for Mr Dellamort’s charms...

8Aug

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Love, Liverpool – Liverpool Playhouse

Love, Liverpool, created by Chloë Moss and directed by Nathan Powell, is a tender and varied homage to Merseyside and its people. Combining video, stage performance and a vibrant soundscape, this is a love letter to a city and its surrounding areas, which exposes the high points and the low points, the good days and the bad, and focuses in on the core of love and hope which is left when all is said and done. Before the show opens, snippets of recordings of people’s memories of Liverpool, curated by Sound Designer, Xenia Bayer, play as a map is projected on the stage with the words “I love Liverpool” is various languages alternate over it. The play opens with a projected image of a Merseyrail train, and simple setting creating the journey from New Brighton to Liverpool. The first of a...

Masks and Faces or, Before and Behind the Curtain – Finborough Theatre

3Aug

By Donna M DayNo Comments

REVIEWS

Masks and Faces or, Before and Behind the Curtain – Finborough Theatre

Masks and Faces or, Before and Behind the Curtain is a comedy of errors and mistaken identities, written by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor in the 19th century. This version, directed by Matthew Iliffe, assisted by Myles O’Gorman, is an online performance, filmed by each of the actors individually in a table read style. The play tells the story of Ernest Vane (Will Kerr), a country gentleman in London who has been frequenting a theatre and become charmed by actress Peg Woffington (Amy McAllister). When his wife, Mabel (Sophie Melville) suddenly arrives in London, she and Ernest are dragged into the farcical world of the theatre as hearts are broken, identities swapped, and small mistakes lead to big problems. The play opens with actors, Kitty Clive (Madison Clare) and Quin (Robyn Holdaw...

18Jul

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Tea Time – Bombed Out Church

G&J Productions’ Tea Time, written by Graham Edgington and directed by James Edgington, is a surreal dramatic comedy about three northern women on an apparently normal day, where the most important thing is getting tea cooked on time. The play takes place in Joan’s cluttered kitchen and opens with Joan (Denice Hope) reading a very upsetting letter from the courts. Her daughter April (Elise Carman) is having serious problems at work and when Joan’s friend Sharon (Samantha Power) comes around for a chat, Joan reluctantly tells her everything, with the repeated refrain that she really cannot say anything more. Sharon listens enraptured by April’s story, while steadily eating grapes as though they were popcorn, and drinking mug after mug of water which smells suspiciously like wine. ...

15Jul

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Twice Nightly – Bombed Out Church

Twice Nightly, written, directed by and starring Maria Lovelady and Michael Alan Bailey, is a fun comedy which explores the world of variety entertainment in 1931 and the impact of film on the theatre industry. Don (Bailey) and Madge (Lovelady) are down on their luck cabaret performers who are frustrated with their underappreciative employer and not being hailed as the superstars they deserve to be. Opening with a synchronised song and dance number, both Bailey and Lovelady demonstrate excellent musical theatre skills throughout the piece. Live music is provided by musical director, Jessica Dives, with fun accordion melodies giving the piece a feeling of the 1930s music hall. A mischievous song about being criminal masterminds is surprisingly followed by the arrival of a policeman (R...

A Brief Conversation about the Inevitability of Love – Bombed Out Church

14Jul

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

A Brief Conversation about the Inevitability of Love – Bombed Out Church

Ian Salmon’s A Brief Conversation about the Inevitability of Love, directed by Mikee Dickinson, is a sweet romance about the almosts and what might have beens that everyone has buried in their memories. Mark (Thomas Galashan) and Cathy (Samantha Alton) are discussing their past relationships. Mark’s ex-wife Suzanne hates all of his friends, and he hates hers, while Cathy’s relationship with Philip was plagued by his serial infidelity. Both Galashan and Alton are dressed casually, with a similar colour scheme, which brings them together as characters. Cool blue light warms up to medium pink giving the play an eerie, dreamlike quality. The piece is very funny throughout with tongue in cheek humour as the characters make fun of each other. Height is cleverly used as the actors move f...

28Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

REVIEWS

Trees: An Audio Journey – Physical Fest

Jamie Wood’s Trees: An Audio Journey combines a detailed and personal memoir of a homemade pilgrimage with a guided mindful walk and a spiritual journey of self-discovery. Recorded by Wood on a ten day walk from Coventry in Warwickshire to Treherbert in South Wales, it is recommended that you listen to the piece while taking your own walk outside and reconnecting with your own roots as Wood did. Wood’s voice is very soothing from the opening of the piece and the background noises of the recording blend beautifully with those around you. Wood encourages you to be curious and notice things you haven’t noticed before. The chorus of sounds allow you to get lost in the experience. Wood’s journey is one which his grandparents undertook when they were younger and he scatters their ashes at ...

27Jun

By Donna M DayNo Comments

REVIEWS

Vigil – Physical Fest

Mechanimal’s Vigil, created and performed by Tom Bailey, with movement direction by Philippa Hambly, is a desperate and poignant illustration of the devastating effects of climate change on animal and plant life endangered as a result of both that and other environmental concerns. Opening in a small wooded area, Bailey walks around with a glass box which he slowly fills with twigs from the ground, some of which are too big to fit into the small confines of the box, indicating from the start that what we are going to see will feel overwhelming in many ways. Moving into a plain room with a white screen, Bailey sits on his box, seemingly full of foliage, when the names of plants and animals on the red list, those at highest risk of extinction begin flashing up on the screen. Bailey watc...