REVIEWS Archives - Page 10 of 346

La rondine – The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD

20Apr

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

La rondine – The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD

Initially commissioned to be a Viennese operetta before receiving the full operatic treatment, Puccini’s bittersweet love story is one of his lesser-known works: as a result of Austria and Italy being on opposing sides in World War I, it opened quietly in Monte Carlo in 1917 and never established a permanent place in the repertoire. Too easily dismissed in comparison to other works, when judged on its own merits it is a fascinating work featuring an abundance of exuberant waltzes, an intoxicating lightness of tone, and a romantic vision of Paris and the French Riviera as its three acts take us on a journey of love in Nicolas Joël’s 1920’s Art Deco-themed production. Opening to the backdrop of Ezio Frigerio’s rich and sumptuous set, matched by Franca Squarciapino’s costumes and elegantl...

20Apr

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

Sing The Musicals – Floral Pavilion

If you are one of those people who wishes they could sing along to a musical, then you need to make sure you add this show to your list. Massaoke’s Sing The Musicals is an evening of fun, laughter and above all else – musicals! With a cast of five singer-musicians, you’d think each one would be under more scrutiny from the audience, but for the majority, they were just happy to be led in the sing along. Luckily, however, the three lead vocalists are good at what they do and have the vocal ranges to fit the songs selected. Nicholette Chew especially, has vocals to die for and with a range from ‘Oom-Pah-Pah’ to ‘Defying Gravity’ and Disney in between, you are left wondering if there is anything she can’t do. And she plays the keys too! She is definitely a talent to watch out for. Josh Ta...

20Apr

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

1884 – Shoreditch Town Hall

What makes a house a home? What makes a hall a theatre and what makes a game play? Conceived by theatre-maker Rhianna Ilube and brought to life by immersive game-theatre makers Coney, 1884, is a hoot and a half. Split into two parts, the first running around two hours that go by in a flash and the second making less of a second full act than a stunningly complex coda, this experience doesn’t waste a minute of the time it takes from you. Intriguingly complex, Jacob Wu’s set design is as functional as it is whimsical and establishes the playfulness of the environment being curated right from the get-go. Audience members self-select seatings of seven to begin the game and from these small pods communities are born. Each activity is thoughtful, engaging, and accessible. Sound designer, Mwen, ...

Lantern Writers: Boss New Plays – Royal Court Studio, Liverpool

20Apr

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Lantern Writers: Boss New Plays – Royal Court Studio, Liverpool

The Lantern Writers originally formed in 2011 is one of Liverpool’s foremost creative playwriting groups. The group was established to showcase the writing talents of local creatives and to give the important opportunity for their individual works to come alive on the stage. Boss New Plays is an annual festival of short plays written by members of the Lantern Writers and its always exciting to welcome new works to the stage. Tonight’s performance (part one of two) featured four plays. Love Target is written by Mark Davoren and directed by Alex Carr. This black comedy centres around a blind date that clashes with a planned euthanasia “date” – in fact, all a case of mistaken identities. It’s an interesting and unusual farce which allows the actors to exercise their considerable ...

Hardy and Webb: Mystery at the Museum – Unity Theatre

20Apr

By Miranda GreenNo Comments

North West

Hardy and Webb: Mystery at the Museum – Unity Theatre

There were a couple of mysteries surrounding this production for children. Part of the Liverpool Improvisation Festival, hosted at the excellent Unity Theatre, the first poser was: where was Becky Webb? The second: where were the children? No matter, the audience of adults thoroughly enjoyed this detective romp played with enthusiastic elasticity by Jen Hardy and Mike Burton, in place of Becky Webb. Improv for a beginner audience, the interaction was light but nonetheless introductory to the genre. An audience stooge was asked to play the role of the Chief who informed the detective duo that they were due a day off, whether they wanted it or not, and that they were to visit a museum. Mavis (possibly her real name) came up with the concept of a postal museum; my mate Jane came up wit...

20Apr

By Eleanor HallNo Comments

North West

Your Flaws: The Musical – Unity Theatre

This fifty-minute whirlwind came as part of the Liverpool Improvisation Festival, which might look to become an annual event for the Unity theatre, following its launch last year. Alongside Patrick Clopon on the piano, Lee Apsey and Emma Wessleus explained their ‘flaws’, distastes and aversions, and invited us to share our own. As we admitted to being afraid of a range of kitchen devices (i.e. potato peelers, sieves, blenders) and taking umbrage with food combinations (i.e. mint and chocolate), the piano began to twinkle… Engaging with the audience’s culinary offers, the trio embarked on a journey through a haunted restaurant with all characters gifted with strange fears and desires which echoed our flaws back to us. We watch the tortured head chef fight for his Michelin star, a chef l...

Boys on the Verge of Tears – Soho Theatre

20Apr

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Boys on the Verge of Tears – Soho Theatre

As a society, the debate around toxic masculinity continues to rage and curdle. The emergence of male social media influencers with unhinged and criminal intentions towards women runs in tandem with alarmingly low conviction rates for men who sexually assault women. Just 2 in 100 rapes recorded by police between Oct' 2022 and Sep' 2023 resulted in someone being charged that same year. Let alone convicted. Into this worrying manosphere drops Boys on the Verge of Tears by Sam Grabiner. It offers no solutions, but by opening a a window onto the brutal evolution of boys to men, it certainly shows why we keep ending up here. Boys on the Verge of Tears was selected from 1,500 entries to the Verity Bargate Award, which is sponsored by Character 7, producers of The Night Manager and Culprits. ...

20Apr

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

The Glass Menagerie – Rose Theatre

Directed by Atri Banerjee and designed by Rosanna Vize, this stylized performance of Tennessee Williams’ iconic family drama both juices up and strips down the physical environs of a timeless story, but its enduring appeal is undulled by theatrical innovation. A restaging both faithful to its formidable script and imbued with a magic of its own, this production is truly enchanting. Geraldine Somerville scintillates as the reluctant matriarch Amanda Wingfield whose erstwhile husband “fell in love with long distances” and hasn’t appeared in more than a decade save in his grinning portrait on the family’s mantle. This production’s rendering of the Wingfield family home places this mantle on the invisible fourth wall which is neither broken nor ever explicitly mended in this staging but ra...

20Apr

By Klervi GavetNo Comments

London

Banging Denmark – Finborough Theatre

A fun, modern take on a romcom classic with a sociologist twist… Management consultant Jake Newhouse (Tom Kay) enrols super-duper feminist Ishtar Madigan (Rebecca Blackstone) to help him seduce the gorgeous, Danish, and totally unreceptive librarian of his dreams (Maja Simonsen). Now here’s the rub. Newhouse also goes by the name of Guy DeWitt, a powerful, misogynistic dating coach, pickup artist and deep voiced podcaster who recently sued Madigan for defamation. Unable to prove DeWitt sent his bros-before-hoes trolls out to destroy her reputation, her mental health and her mailbox, Madigan was forced to sell everything she owns to pay the settlement agreement. She now sleeps in the copy room of her university, a shadow of her glorious self - an alcoholic, paranoiac, horny PhD sc...

19Apr

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Wicked – Bradford Alhambra

If you’ve ever wondered how those red shoes came to be sticking out from under Dorothy’s house in The Wizard of Oz this prequel to that classic movie will give you the answer. It goes back to before Dorothy crash landed in the land of Oz ruled by a mysterious wizard to reveal the backstory of Elphaba – better known to us The Wicked Witch of the West - and her nemesis Glinda the Good. Based on Gregory Maguire’s revisionist novel ‘Wicked – The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of West’ rather than L. Frank Baum’s original text we firstly meet Elphaba and Glinda as they start life at Shiz University as sworn enemies. The brilliant twist in this version is that Elphaba's skin is green thanks to an accident of birth so is the outsider and blonde rich brat Glinda is her exact opposite. B...