REVIEWS Archives - Page 10 of 545

Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey – Traverse Theatre

4Nov

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey – Traverse Theatre

Opening in the post-war Western Isles, guitarist and vocalist Willie Campbell of The Metagama Ensemble, along with his fellow musicians, set the scene of Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey with its first musical number. We learn of the large groups of islanders, who due to a lack of opportunity, money, and depopulation from the war, decided to make the journey all the way to Canada on the ocean-liners SS Metagama, Canada, or Marloch. With traditional Scottish music being the focal point, it is accompanied with archival footage, illustrations (constructed by Doug Robertson), and narration by Dolina Maclennan and writer Donald S. Murray. Featuring not only original music by pianist and vocalist Liza Mulholland, Murray, and Campbell, traditional Gaelic songs are interspersed t...

Manchester Musical Youth’s 11th Anniversary Concert – Manchester College

2Nov

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Manchester Musical Youth’s 11th Anniversary Concert – Manchester College

Manchester Musical Youth (MMY) marked its 11th anniversary in spectacular fashion with a celebratory concert at Manchester College, showcasing the incredible breadth of talent that has become synonymous with this outstanding theatre group. With over 100 students taking part, from apprentices to main stage performers - this was more than just a concert; it was a heartfelt celebration of eleven years of nurturing young talent and transforming passion into performance. Headed by the dynamic husband-and-wife duo Kimberly Holden (Musical Director) and Dave Holden (Director), MMY once again proved why it is renowned for producing some of Manchester’s finest young performers, many of whom have gone on to excel on professional stages and screens. The evening featured 23 musical numbers s...

2Nov

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

The Laramie Project – The Cornerhouse

It’s been 27 years since the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. His death sparked a media frenzy and led to candlelit vigils in cities across the world. For anyone unfamiliar with the story, Shepard was a gay, American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die, while tied to a fence near Laramie on October 6,1998. It’s easy to forget that this homophobic attack also created an instant ‘culture war. There were abusive letters sent to the hospital which treated Shepard and protestors descended on the young man’s funeral carrying placards which declared that ‘God Hates Fags’. Home Office figures published last month (9 October 2025) show in the year ending March 2025 there were a total of 115,990 hate crime offences, up from 113,166 the pr...

2Nov

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Shocktober – Tulley’s Farm

Tulley’s Farm in Crawley is well-known for hosting an array of events throughout the year, but when Halloween approaches, the farm truly comes alive with its spectacular Shocktober Fest. This annual event has grown into one of the UK’s most celebrated Halloween attractions, drawing thrill-seekers from far and wide for a night of spine-chilling entertainment, immersive scare mazes, live performances, and an electric festival atmosphere. The main highlight of Shocktober Fest is undoubtedly its collection of scare mazes, each uniquely themed and meticulously designed to deliver heart-pounding scares and unforgettable experiences. One of the standout attractions this year was Doomtown, a masterfully crafted maze that transported guests into a post-apocalyptic town overrun by the undead. The...

2Nov

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

Surinderella – Riverside Studios

Your regular pantomimes already come packed with beloved characters, popular music, and hilarity. Now give it a desi twist, and you have more colours, hip shaking, and drama than Bollywood itself can dish out. Written by Pravesh Kumar and directed by Ameet Chana, this is a bold new panto with lashings of South Asian flavour. As the name suggests, Surinderella is a retelling of Cinderella and when it comes to adding that desi-ness, the makers do not hold back. Surinder (Sonya Venugopal) lives on the edge of the Bolly Woods with her stepsisters Lovely and Bubbly, and her emotional support livestock and best friend, Basanti the cow. In the stepsisters we have our pantomime dames, played with sass and style by Neil Varu and Raheem Payne, whose crowd work and shenanigans were consistently...

1Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Matilda – Alhambra Bradford

Many parents would have brought their precious ones along tonight expecting a jolly night out, but Matilda is based on a Roald Dahl classic so there’s a welcome darkness to this mega hit musical they might not have been expecting. It’s a tale of five-year-old child genius Matilda Wormwood who not only ends up in the family from hell, but then comes under the tutelage of monstrous headmistress Miss Trunchbull before using her formidable powers to take the tyrant down. Matilda is a subtly challenging but always entertaining piece that works for young minds, and for big kids like me who were huge Dahl fans back in the day, who can appreciate themes like how abuse impacts adult life like for Matilda’s teacher, the saintly Miss Honey. Dennis Kelly’s intelligent and funny adaptation kee...

31Oct

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

I Screamed a Scream – Phoenix Arts Club

Halloween season is the perfect time to celebrate all things wicked, and I Screamed a Scream embraces that spirit with devilish delight. This cabaret brings together a collection of songs from some of theatre and film’s most iconic villains, alongside a few surprising choices that make you question what really defines a villain in the first place. One of the most unexpected moments of the evening came with the inclusion of Bop to the Top from High School Musical. It’s a fun, upbeat number, but it does make you pause to wonder: are Ryan and Sharpay truly villainous enough to earn their place among such notorious company? Whether or not you think they fit the bill, the song’s addition brought a burst of nostalgia and humour to the night, and that playful unpredictability was part of t...

31Oct

By Holly SewellNo Comments

London

The Line of Beauty – Almeida Theatre

Alan Hollinghurst’s 2004 novel The Line of Beauty takes its title from William Hogarth’s work on the empirical analysis of aesthetics. Its protagonist, Nick Guest, is obsessed with this idea of beauty; he drifts from gorgeous lover to gorgeous lover, coming alive only for sex and conversations about Henry James; he is enticed by the lifestyle of the wealthy, but doesn’t quite belong in their world. The Almeida's adaptation of the novel grapples with Nick’s struggle between his aesthete sensibilities and impossibility of life as a young gay man during Thatcherism and the AIDS crisis. Michael Grandage’s production captures the ‘80s zeitgeist deliciously. There’s ‘80s pop anthems throughout, booming from the radio onstage and smoothing over scene transitions; and, conversely, there’s the e...

30Oct

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

The Producers – Zodiac Theatre Group

Opening Night, It’s Opening Night. Zodiac Theatre Group have brought the hilarious Mel Brooks musical, The Producers, to the Hammond in Chester this week. A new venue for the company but the space was used extremely well. Directed by Neil Silcock, there were nods from the 2005 film mixed with some fresh and hilarious moments, with lots of physical comedy made possible by the brilliant cast who threw themselves, sometimes literally, into the roles to bring this hilarious musical to life. Gareth Earl leads the company as doomed theatre producer Max Bialystock and lead he does. Earl delivers a fantastic Bialystock, with absolute top notch acting, plenty of physical comedy and some incredible vocals, especially during Betrayed where he recaps most of the story at top speed, including an ...

Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts – Sheffield Lyceum

30Oct

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts – Sheffield Lyceum

Billed as a ‘thrilling murder mystery featuring the iconic Inspector Morse’, House of Ghosts arrives in Sheffield to fulfil the gap the much missed TV Series left, 25 years ago. Based on Colin Dexter’s characters and written by Morse scriptwriter Alma Cullen the production goes some way towards filling the void Jon Thaw left and is a must experience for bereft Morse fans. The house of Ghosts refers to Morse’s past rather than the ghoulish variety as we are transported back to 1987 to the City of Oxford. The play opens as a play within a play, as we are greeted with a rather amateur stage version of Hamlet (Spin Glancy) and it is as Ophelia (Eliza Teale) enters the scene we witness her stutter, raise her hand to her mouth as blood falls onto her white gown and within seconds she is dead....