Kathleen Mansfield, Author at North West End UK

29Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Life is a Dream – Lyceum Theatre

Co-produced by Cheek by Jowl, Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico (CNTC Madrid) and LAZONA; in collaboration with the Barbican, London and Scène Nationale d’ALBI-Tarn, France The only time I saw a production by Cheek by Jowl was in 1981, when the company was an infant. I don’t remember the play I saw, but I remember the company because the production was jaw-droppingly good. For this reason, I chose to review, decades later, Life is a Dream. In this classic Spanish tale, a prince is released from imprisonment to test whether the prophesy that he will be a tyrant, will, in fact, come true. The play is listed as one of the forty greatest plays of all time. It was performed in Spanish with English surtitles. First published in 1636, you could be forgiven for wondering if it might...

Tannhäuser: Deutsche Oper Berlin – Usher Hall

29Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Tannhäuser: Deutsche Oper Berlin – Usher Hall

Sitting from 6 pm - 10 pm is a big ask for an audience. It’s an even bigger ask for an orchestra and singers. Below me, from my balcony, I could see a sea of white heads. I think it takes maturity to know this will be worth it. The majority down there are probably Munro climbers - folk who know it is worth the trek. Sitting through a Wagner opera (on stage or in concert) is a statement of love. Wagner is bold. He’s brassy. He’s massively dramatic - employing harps and I’m a bit of a lover of those things. I am a novice to Tannhäuser, and it did not disappoint. I was truly impressed with all the performers. Together, they comprised: chorus and orchestra of the Deutch Oper Berlin and musicians from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Sir Donald Runnicles conducted while Jeremy Bines...

The Beatles Were a Boy Band – The Gilded Balloon, Patter Hoose

29Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

The Beatles Were a Boy Band – The Gilded Balloon, Patter Hoose

In this 70-minute play, cleverly entitled The Beatles Were a Boy Band to appeal to a wide age range and both sexes, a network of social issues are explored: sexual predation mainly, but it is couched within the context of young people’s addiction to social media and trashy reality TV and the values it disseminates. It highlights those opportunistic young men who hide themselves within the cloak of anonymous tweets and memes and then torment and intimidate naïve young women, encouraged by this titillating diet of overtly sexualised media. There is an example of real-life intimidation: a woman comedian being heckled by the crowd. Unlike a male comedian’s experience, the drunken heckler was laser focused on the performer's physical attributes. As a woman, I know this to be true and somethi...

26Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Bluebeard’s Castle – Churchill Theatre

The collaboration between director/librettist, Daisy Evans, and conductor/arranger, Stephen Higgins, to create a dementia tale from Bartók’s only opera, Bluebeard’s Castle, is startlingly clever and beautifully produced. The set by Adrian Linford is simple, yet effective. The lighting is perfect for a castle where the sun never shines. The Hebrides Ensemble play like angels. And the two voices: Michael Mayes and Charlotte Hellekant - superb! Gone is the gothic horror and the manipulation of the male/female power dynamic of the original to be replaced by the less blameworthy machinations of memory loss through dementia. In reality, dementia is equally as frightening in its thievery, but not so terrifying in its conscious malice. In this version, Bluebeard and his wife, Judith, rev...

23Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Kyiv City Ballet – Assembly Hall

Hopeful, playful and bright. Those are the adjectives I’d use to describe the show performed by the homeless Kyiv City Ballet this evening. The company was on tour in France when hostilities broke out in Ukraine. There was no going home. The company has been living by touring ever since: recycling costumes and shows, inventing new shows and making beautiful art as a means of making a living and a way of distracting themselves from their terrible exiled predicament. Creative dance is a wonderful means of expression and this company has kept itself afloat through its own endeavors. Their new piece is an expression of love, humanity, sharing and caring. It is utterly charming. There is no wiff of bitterness nor an aside to the black nature of mankind. It is simply a celebration of h...

Cults, Startups and Pornstars: How I (almost) Won My Dad’s Approval – Zoo Playground

23Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Cults, Startups and Pornstars: How I (almost) Won My Dad’s Approval – Zoo Playground

This humorous confessional makes light of child abuse in order to win over the audience. The subject matter is made palatable and, therefore, people listen. In response to a traumatic childhood, Cheyenne claims to have developed an App to protect children online. It was removed from use. If true, this should concern us all. But I only have one side of the story. Cheyenne’s. What goes on behind closed doors is rarely revealed easily and then there’s the difficulty of building a case. But, online exploitation, now that’s a public thing and a dirty thing and an underground thing that needs policing. I would have thought any efforts in this field would be welcomed with open arms. This was the part of the show that hit me. And it was meant to. The other parts, are there to pull ...

Baby Belle: Young, Dumb and full of Autism – Greenside @ Infirmary Street

15Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Baby Belle: Young, Dumb and full of Autism – Greenside @ Infirmary Street

Jax Braithwaite is at the Edinburgh Fringe to tell a personal story. It’s about a slow awakening to personal identity. A one-person show, Jax took a last-minute opening at the Fringe and put this piece together because it matters. The show is funny and warm and aimed at both the neurodivergent and as an edutainment piece, where those who fit the norm might better appreciate that autism is as nuanced and individual as each individual on this planet. It’s a tale of how they discovered their autism as an adult. As an aging linguistics graduate, I wonder if, over time, he and she will disappear altogether. If so, what will the French do? But I digress. Jax’s story is told through song and direct address. It is very relatable. And it makes me think. As an older person, I wonder if ...

National Youth Choir of Scotland – Usher Hall

15Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

National Youth Choir of Scotland – Usher Hall

If you were lucky enough to get to the Usher Hall by 4pm on Sunday, you will have joined a lively run-down (and audience challenge) detailing how and why Scottish National Youth Choir is so exemplary. The choir caters for 0-25-years-old. It is truly outstanding thanks to the skill, playfulness and overall enthusiasm of Artistic Director and Conductor, Christopher Bell who formed the choir in 1996. In 2012, the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCoS) became the first youth company to win a Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award in the Ensemble category. Bell calls the company’s methods “stealth teaching” and the games-based learning is just up my street. Balls, hula hoops and old-fashioned clapping games get the rhythm and mood started and the children learn without knowing it. “S...

Trojan Women – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

11Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Trojan Women – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Phenomenal. Raw. A fusion of golden talent across time and space. Combining Euripides’ play from 415 BCE with outstanding modern expertise is genius. Jung Jae-Il, the musical director, composer, is behind the success of Parasite (2019) and the cult TV series Squid Game; Scott Zielinski has lit more than 300 productions with numerous leading directors; renowned video/projection designer, Austin Switser, swamps and caresses the senses in magnificent style; Cho Myung Hee’s clean-lined, gorgeous, set is drop-dead wonderful; Wen Hui’s choreography is faultless; Kim Moo-Hong’s costumes … I want one. And then, of course, there’s the wonderful writer, Bae Sam-Sik who is acclaimed for outstanding structure, profundity and eloquence. The direction and conception is down to Ong Keng Sen, whose produc...

11Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Lear Alone – The Space Triplex

And Tomorrow Theatre Company brings us Lear Alone: a modern-day take on street living, aging and the modern scourge of dementia in all its guises. It was originally an award-winning Web Series shot on the streets of London. The punitive Covid lockdown saw the homeless finally safe inside, but the arts and artists were crippled and bound by isolation. And Tomorrow is creating work that can be presented both digitally and on stage in our post-pandemic landscape. The company is working with CRISIS to highlight the plight of homeless individuals in our relatively wealthy society. They have funding from The Arts Council, Screensaver, Elysium Theatre Company, Entire, Tricolore, Theater Auf’m Kahn, Berlin, Actors and Writers London and The So & So Club. Directed by Anthony Shrubsal...