REVIEWS Archives - North West End UK

17Jun

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

RON – Riverside Studios

RON is one of those rare productions that refuses to stay in a single genre and is all the better for it. What begins as something familiar, a stand-up comedy act, quickly spirals into an increasingly surreal, dark comedy that constantly keeps its audience guessing. Every time you think you've understood where the story is heading, it gleefully pulls the rug from beneath you and quite literally lifts the curtain on a wildly inventive theatrical experience. The direction (Ted Walliker and Lev Govorovski) is razor sharp, maintaining an impressive pace while allowing every twist to land with maximum impact. There is a real confidence behind the production, balancing absurd comedy with moments of genuine unease without ever feeling forced. It is an ambitious piece that could easily have col...

Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) – Soho Theatre

17Jun

By Saloni SanwalkaNo Comments

London

Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) – Soho Theatre

Jade Franks’ one-woman show, Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x), has had a fairytale run. Its sold-out debut at Edinburgh Fringe last year marked Franks out as a breakout talent and the excitement has carried her from London to Melbourne and even Netflix offices. Its return to the Soho Theatre this June is accompanied by a similar buzz which, for the most part, is warranted. The semi-autobiographical show is sharply written and draws the audience into the world of Jade, a Liverpudlian scholar, as she navigates her first year at Cambridge University. It is a caustic commentary on the cultural and class-based divisions which overwhelm her experience, almost to the point of caricature. The posh students are ignorant and nasty, the alumni are genocidal, and the professors are technolog...

16Jun

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

North West

The Bodyguard – Liverpool Empire

The UK tour of The Bodyguard brings the high-stakes, romantic thriller to life on stage, expertly balancing the glitz of a pop concert with the tension of a dark TV drama. Telling the story of superstar Rachel Marron and Frank Farmer - the former Secret Service agent hired to protect her from an obsessive stalker - the show manages to be both a spectacular showcase of Whitney Houston’s greatest hits and a genuinely gripping theatrical experience. The show doesn't gently ease you into your seat; it commands your attention from the absolute second the house lights fade. Opening with an explosive rendition of "Queen of the Night," the production immediately immerses the audience into the high-octane world of a global mega-celebrity. What follows is a clever juxtaposition of high-energy...

Strength In a Whisper – Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh

16Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Strength In a Whisper – Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh

Some productions tell a story. Others invite you into a landscape, a culture and a state of mind. Strength in a Whisper belongs firmly in the latter category. Created by singer-songwriter Kirsty Law and developed with Liam Hurley, this atmospheric blend of folk song, dance and theatre draws deeply from Scotland's oral traditions, exploring memory, solitude and the songs that survive only because someone chooses to keep singing them.The production unfolds at a deliberately unhurried pace. Alone in a remote bothy, a woman settles into the rhythms of rural existence. Gather. Dry. Eat. Rest. Repeat. The repetitive rituals of daily survival become the structure of the piece itself, creating an experience that asks the audience to slow down and inhabit its world rather than simply observe it.At ...

A Life in Four Seasons – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

16Jun

By Saloni SanwalkaNo Comments

London

A Life in Four Seasons – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

As the last of Vivaldi’s descending runs in L’inverno (“Winter”) hurtles towards a ritardando at cliff’s edge, bringing the show to a close, every single person in Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is on their feet. The 16-dancer ensemble stands arms-linked and beaming and even the birds chirp their appreciation. It is the most inevitable of standing ovations for a triumphant showcase of dance, music, and theatre. A Life in Four Seasons, set to the eponymous work by Antonio Vivaldi, is a production in four segments, with each part representing a season in one’s life and the forces which determine their course. Spring marks the beginning and introduces us to the Heart, the Head, and the Gut at the point of self-discovery. They move with the awkwardness and buoyancy of youth, all-smiles and ...

Desperate Scousewives: Lily’s Story — St Helens Theatre Royal

13Jun

By Kevin EcclestonNo Comments

North West

Desperate Scousewives: Lily’s Story — St Helens Theatre Royal

Some productions arrive with a clear sense of identity, and Desperate Scousewives: Lily’s Story wastes no time establishing exactly what kind of night audiences are in for. From the moment the opening music fills the auditorium, the show embraces its Merseyside roots with confidence and affection. Loud, proud and packed with personality, it delivers an evening of laughter, warmth and recognisable Scouse spirit that immediately wins over its audience. At the centre of it all is Lily, played by the ever-charismatic Crissy Rock. A born performer with impeccable comic timing, Rock commands the stage from her first entrance. Lily is brash, outspoken and fiercely funny, but Rock ensures there is genuine heart beneath the sharp one-liners. Against a background of coercive behavior and physical...

13Jun

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

War Horse – National Theatre

War Horse is a two hour twenty-minute spectacle of sublime animated visuals and skilful puppetry. A story that gets to the heart of the atrocities and impact of World War 1 on the men, families and the cavalry horses involved in conflict. The play introduces Joey as a foal a horse bred to become a fine racing horse who finds his way to a farm. In the mists of desperation, the family need to earn a living, Joey now needs to become a draft horse ploughing fields and supporting the family. Ted and Rose Narracott task their 16yr old son Albert to care for and train Joey to perform the enviable duties of ploughing, hauling and work as an agricultural horse. As time moved on Albert and Joey form a special bond of shared love, friendship and survival At the time of the outbreak of the first...

11Jun

By Stewart Who?No Comments

North West

We Had a World – Hampstead Theatre

Joshua Harmon’s We Had a World arrives Downstairs at Hampstead Theatre following a critically acclaimed debut in New York last year. The young playwright is a Juilliard graduate who scandalised Manhattan with his first play Bad Jews. He also co-wrote a musical with Sarah Silverman and his last play, Prayer for the French Republic was nominated for Tony. While Harmon is the award-winning toast of New York, he’s less familiar to London crowds. It’s a minor coup for Hampstead Theatre to present this show in a studio space normally reserved for emerging new writers. It’s a small space for a playwright who’s a big deal. We had a World is a semi-autobiographical analysis of family conflict and how it filters through different generations. The play opens with Joshua (Ryan Copel) addressi...

11Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Portable Infinity – Traverse Theatre

A packed Traverse 1 on a Monday night is no small achievement for a contemporary jazz ensemble. Yet Portable Infinity's appearance at the Traverse felt entirely at home in the theatre's largest space. Eighteen months ago the group played the Traverse bar. Now they return at the conclusion of a major European tour to a full house, a testament both to the growing reputation of the band and the enthusiasm of Edinburgh's jazz audience.The evening stretched to around one hour and forty minutes without an interval, a format that might have tested a lesser audience. Instead, the capacity crowd remained rapt throughout, drawn into a performance that was as intellectually engaging as it was emotionally rewarding.What immediately struck this reviewer was the honesty of the music. There were no backi...

11Jun

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

The Full Monty – Theatr Clwyd

Almost 30 years after the original film came to our screens, Tiptop productions return to Theatr Clwyd with the brilliant The Full Monty. Directed by Peter Swingler, we follow the story of a group of Steelworkers in the 90s who find themselves out of work as yet another steel factory has been closed and they are trying to find their way through unemployment, depression, body image and much more. As the play unfolds, we realise it’s not just about six men taking their clothes off but heart, emotion and real people. When Gaz faces the possibility of losing shared custody of his son, he has to find a way to make money. And fast. After seeing the crowds that the Chippendales have drawn in, he gathers a group with five other guys to create the Buns of Steel, a group of strippers who will ...