REVIEWS Archives - North West End UK

The Dawn of Reckoning – White Bear Theatre

21Mar

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

The Dawn of Reckoning – White Bear Theatre

Two women meet unexpectedly in the lobby bar of a small hotel in Bayswater at 3 am on a cold, foggy January morning. They recognise each other immediately: best friends at university they became estranged later as they sequentially married the same man, leaving a legacy of acrimony and guilt. They are both due to attend the reading of their former husband’s will the following day. Is this a chance meeting or has it been engineered, as they suspect, by their former husband or his agent? As they talk, initially in a spirit of confrontation and hostility, fuelled by alcohol obtained from the bar, home truths begin to spill and a degree of understanding, if not empathy, emerges between them. This is a two hander, no hotel staff appear. Ruth played by Jilly Bond hails from middle-clas...

The Complete Works of Jane Austen Abridged – Thingwall Players

21Mar

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

The Complete Works of Jane Austen Abridged – Thingwall Players

Who needs to know Jane Austen's works to perform them? Certainly not Trevor (Kyle Jensen) when he unexpectedly throws himself into a performance of her complete works with two Austenites, or Janeites (depending on how big a fan you, yourself are). Determined to deliver their show Jessica (Bethany Cragg) and Charlotte (Meredith Clayton) enlist Trevor after the unforeseen resignation of the final piece of their original trio. Cragg was soft and spritely as Jessica, wrapped up in the love and triumphs of Austen's story. Clayton contrasted this character well with her more serious and grouchier take on Charlotte. My absolute favourite was Trevor as Jensen took on a variety of voices and roles fluid in both genders and had the audience in stitches. Extremely good physicality throughout hi...

21Mar

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Ruth – Wilton’s Music Hall

Ruth is a powerful musical based on the life of Ruth Ellis, who in 1955 became the last woman to be executed in Britain. The show dives deeply into her life, exploring her time as a nightclub hostess, the social and class pressures she faced, and the restrictive gender roles of the era. It is both a compelling story and a thought-provoking reflection on power, morality, and the consequences of one’s actions. Hannah Traylen and Bibi Simpson both deliver phenomenal performances as Ruth, portraying her at different stages of her life. The production is framed with Ruth confined in her cell, awaiting her execution. While she waits, she recounts the story of her life, from childhood to the events that led her to this tragic moment. These reflections are brought to life through flashbacks, wi...

21Mar

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

The Ladykillers – Church Hill Theatre

The Ladykillers, based on the 1955 film, is a kitchen-sink meets gangster comedy play written by Graham Linehan in 2011. While this adaptation is surprisingly a contemporary work, Edinburgh People’s Theatre captures all the dry, yet subtly slapstick, and indisputably British charm of the original film. Performing at the Church Hill Theatre this week, The Ladykillers showcases the typical domestic dramedy style that Edinburgh People’s Theatre seem to gravitate towards. And it’s no wonder why they often choose this style of play, as it certainly compliments their cast. Val Lennie plays the very proper, yet slightly befuddled Mrs Wilberforce, who has somehow managed to house and aid a gang of vicious criminals with no knowledge of it. Lennie is a strong lead, pla...

21Mar

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

North West

Waiting for Godot – Liverpool Playhouse

Dominic Hill’s revival of Waiting for Godot, seen here at Everyman Theatre, reminds you why this play still divides audiences' decades after its premiere. Samuel Beckett’s writing can feel elusive and, at times, deliberately opaque - but in the right hands, it becomes something quietly powerful. The production opens on a stark, desolate set designed by Jean Chan. A fractured landscape stretches across the stage, dominated by the familiar solitary tree, here emerging from the wreckage of an abandoned car. It’s a world that feels worn down and forgotten, reinforcing the sense that time has stalled completely. At the centre are Vladimir and Estragon, played by George Costigan and Matthew Kelly. Their performances carry the production. There’s an ease between them that never feels theatr...

21Mar

By NewsdeskNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Living -The Crucible Playhouse

Sheffield Theatre’s latest production ‘Living’ is the ambitious brainchild of local playwright Leo Butler, chronicling the life of a young family who move into the Burngreave suburb of the city and how politics shapes their lifestyle, relationships livelihoods and belief systems. It’s unflinching and bold, and this is a production long to live in the memory of those fortunate to see it. Sarah Beaton’s set design is simple yet formidable. There’s an impermanent quality to the wooden furnishing of the space that evokes the required domesticity needed for the play to operate within as well as a timeless quality that permits jumping between decades. Projection is used to establish time as well as more dynamic functions which are used with a careful consideration for their artistic merit and...

21Mar

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Under Milk Wood – Theatr Clwyd

For a Welsh theatre marking its 50th anniversary, Under Milk Wood is both an obvious and a risky choice. Dylan Thomas’s “play for voices” is so bound up with its own mythology—its lyrical density, its association with Richard Burton—that any staging must negotiate the tension between fidelity and reinvention. Kate Wasserberg’s production does so with intelligence and flair, even if it occasionally brushes up against the limits of the text itself. Written for radio and first broadcast in 1954, Thomas’s portrait of a day in the fictional Welsh village of Llareggub (read it backwards) remains a defiantly literary work: episodic, associative and rich to the point of saturation. Its comparison to Thornton Wilder’s Our Town is not misplaced, but where Wilder offers clarity and restraint, Thom...

21Mar

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Summerfolk – National Theatre

Does a vacation sound nice? Would a countryside retreat relax you? Would you be able to take your mind off of work or the news or the fact that the waitress delivering your sandwiches hates your guts? Summerfolk, an adaptation of Maxim Gorky’s 1904 Dachniki, poses all of these questions as gracefully as a studio photographer on family portrait day with a set and costumes by Peter McKintosh very much invoking that particular environment. An array of variously Russianified white chemises and linen suits stand in stark contrast to the woody green of the deconstructed dacha set that only vaguely implies era or country. Adapted by Nina and Moses Raine for a predominantly British company and directed by Robert Hastie for the English audience of the National Theatre this production is all over th...

21Mar

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

Saint Joan – Traverse Theatre

George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan is reimagined by writer/director Stewart Laing in a risky new version influenced heavily by an unproduced screenplay by Shaw. While this decision offers a unique take on theatrical adaptation, one must question whether this is the right form for a stage production. This version places Joan firmly at the center of the action during the Hundred Years War, showcasing her rise and eventual downfall as a soldier turned saint. With a strong focus on gender and the power of youth, Saint Joan aims to remind us that anyone is capable of making change. However, the play's structure, which moves away from familiar theatrical conventions, feels disjointed. Narrative is spoken as though direction in a screenplay, with reference to close ups and camera tracki...

20Mar

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Oh, Sister Mary! – Arches Lane Theatre

Oh, Sister Mary! is a delightfully entertaining new cabaret performance that introduces audiences to the unforgettable character of Sister Mary, a spirited nun from Soho, London. The show, brought vividly to life by the exceptionally funny Tim McArthur, combines storytelling, song, and audience interaction to create a thoroughly immersive and joyous experience. From the moment Sister Mary steps onto the stage, it’s clear that this is no ordinary cabaret. Through a series of amusing anecdotes from her time as a nun, Sister Mary takes the audience on a journey filled with witty observations, cheeky innuendos, and laugh-out-loud moments. Tim McArthur’s impeccable comedic timing ensures that each story lands perfectly, drawing constant laughter from the audience. Whether recalling the quirk...