Kathleen Mansfield, Author at North West End UK

Peaky Blinders – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

2Mar

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Peaky Blinders – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Attention to detail is powerful and Rambert hits the right note from the get-go. Ushers dressed in waistcoats and peaked caps direct the audience. The request to turn off your mobile could be termed menacing. Even the coasters for your interval drink remind you the venue is under new management by order of the Peaky Blinders - the now famous fictional Shelby family, created by Steven Kinght, CBE, who claw their way up from street hoodlums to legitimate business owners in early twentieth century Birmingham. The special effects (Filipe J Carvalho), especially the burning barge are bold, unapologetic, theatrical: awesome. And so apt. Peaky Blinders wins at story-telling because it’s “in your face” yet the brushstrokes of anguish and wounds that seep from the past into the present are...

<strong>The Memories Will Mostly Be Bright – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh</strong>

5Dec

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

The Memories Will Mostly Be Bright – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Creating and crafting theatre from scratch is a brave endeavour. Part of you is being measured, assessed and critiqued and it takes guts to put your ideas and interests out there for the public to judge. And so, I applaud this young writer and director, Conçalo Gois. Napier University Drama Society is clearly a very active group with 27 members of cast in this production about the nature of memory and significant moments in time remembered differently by different people. It didn’t quite hit the mark but was admirable in concept. Some things that needed attention include sound effects - ease them up, ease them down. Here it was a sudden assault on the senses and just as a surprise when they stopped - bam; lighting - use it to enhance the atmosphere/mood or concept. As this was about ...

<strong>Ainadamar – Edinburgh Festival Theatre</strong>

15Nov

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Ainadamar – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Ainadamar (The Fountain of Tears) is a fusion of dance, visual technology, voices and orchestra, knitted together in bold, beautiful, installation-style art. The opening, a monochrome projection of a bull, is instantly intriguing and the intermittent visual representations cast to the shimmering circular curtain continue throughout the opera, lending depth and coherence not afforded by the libretto (David Henry Hwang). The curtain is easily penetrated and moved aside, suggesting power and vulnerability at one and the same time. The chainmail bullring conceals scene changes and reveals the action with the cast free to move between the interior and the exterior. This metaphor translates to traditional Andalucia and its gypsy customs of Flamenco and bullfighting, which Lorca endeavoured to...

26Oct

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Crocodile Rock – Traverse Theatre

Andy McGregor’s Crocodile Rock evokes Elton John and his sexuality through the title, before the actual landmark on Milport in the West of Scotland is overtly referenced. So, the audience is primed to expect a tale with a gay man at the centre. Sexual desire is an old story: as old as time itself. We are not all heterosexual. Some of us don’t fit in. Difference can seem threating. If you stand outside the norm, life can be cruel and folk hard-hearted. Yet, Stephen’s story has a lively freshness that is as unique as Scotland. You can tell that Andy McGregor loves creating stories for wee folk as much as for adults. The sense of fun and his simple rhyming songs appeal to the child in all of us. On this tiny island of Milport, a lost and lonely boy finds his alter ego and his sense of p...

James IV: Queen of the Fight – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

5Oct

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

James IV: Queen of the Fight – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

“I’d no illusions I could match Shakespeare, but I thought someone should try and dramatise Scotland’s history,” said Rona Munro when she set out on the James series of plays. And this latest one, James IV: Queen of the Fight, brought to the stage by Raw Material and Capital Theatres in association with National Theatre of Scotland, is a cracker. The script has humour and is earthy, mixing modern language, clothes and gestures with a set which reflects the sixteenth century and costumes to match. It is framed by the acknowledgement that this is storytelling, based on historical evidence. It is a snapshot in time of James IV and Queen Margaret’s court. It is compelling and exciting in equal measure. The strong king (Daniel Cahill) fights his foes for fun yet has a tender heart and a s...

The Cher Show – The King’s Theatre, Glasgow

28Sep

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

The Cher Show – The King’s Theatre, Glasgow

Standing ovations have to be earned and the team behind the Toni Award winning musical, The Cher Show, hit the sweet spot last night at The King’s Theatre, Glasgow. The clever staging (Tom Rogers) was sumptuously lit (Ben Cracknell), especially at the finale, and the costumes (Gabriella Slade) were spectacular … especially at the finale, but more than that, it was the tale of an outsider made good. We all love a story of the underdog overcoming seemingly immovable obstacles. And I don’t know anyone who isn’t in awe of some sort of genuinely gifted individual. Cher’s gift is not just her voice, but her resilience, her obstinacy and her rebellious attitude. Who cares if she’s got parts of her body that don’t match her decades on this earth? The woman has given us decades of rousing, deep,...

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – The King’s Theatre, Glasgow

14Sep

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – The King’s Theatre, Glasgow

Everything about Beautiful - The Carole King Musical presented by The Curve Production is top notch. The direction (Nikolai Foster) is superb with seamless transitions on a wonderfully apt set (Frankie Bradshaw) and, of course the cast, every one of them, is talented, exuberant and committed. They are multi-talented actors, singers and instrumentalists. This show is full of life. It is joyful from the very start. Carole King’s story is inspiring. Her music, and that of her contemporaries, has stood the test of time. She is one of the most successful solo acts in pop music history and the quality of this production would make her smile, I am sure. Characters mill around on stage, chatting, setting up mics etc while the audience settle down. Click your fingers and the auditorium ...

31Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Rock of Ages – King’s Theatre, Glasgow

“Amazing!” Blondie exclaimed as she dried her hands in the loo at the end of the night, while “It’s a game of two halves,” might have been uttered by the man watching football on his mobile at half-time. What he actually said was: “It’s not great. I’ve seen it before. It must be understudies.” So, there you have it. The first half was rushed and heartless. The diction was unclear. Less than half the audience were clapping along. For an audience-participation-style show that’s not great. The second half, however, brought a smile to my face and roars of appreciation from a very loyal fan-base. The final number was brilliant and had everyone on their feet. If only there had been more of that. If only they’d played to win from the start. The Page Three depiction of females as sex obje...

Horse Country – Assembly George Square Studios

29Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Horse Country – Assembly George Square Studios

Roll up! Roll up! Let’s talk car sales, magic tricks, Piaget, coercion and bedroom slippers. If you like your theatre slick, then Horse Country, directed by Mark Bell and featuring Daniel Llewelyn-Williams and Michael Edwards of Flying Bridge Theatre Company is for you. Fast paced and jam-packed with allusions to well-kent faces, films, songs and writers (Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller and F.Scott-Fitzgerald come to mind), this ode to The American Dream with all its frailties is crafted for speed and requires quality performers to do it justice. C J Hopkins has written both character, Sam and Bob, with boundless energy and buzz. They spend their time trying not to address the underlying issues of a macho, capitalist society while constantly talking around the issues of oppression, domina...

Black is the Color of my Voice – Pleasance at EICC

8Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Black is the Color of my Voice – Pleasance at EICC

Amazing. Brilliant. Such an expanse of energy. These are some of the comments I heard on leaving the theatre. For myself the rapture began less than one minute in. The hairs, not just on my arms, but on my scalp, stood on end as our protagonist call “Daddy!” Why? I’m not sure. It must have been the emotional intensity. I knew this was going to press buttons and make me bleed. In a good way. Apphia Campbell has a powerful voice: a fitting tribute to Nina Simone, but, more than that, this woman can act. She knows about pace and tension and pathos and immersion. It is a beautiful piece of theatre. Scripted to perfection by Campbell, this is a don't miss piece for lovers of Nina Simone and all theatre goers who admire true commitment and emotional frankness. For me, I knew little of t...