REVIEWS Archives - Page 109 of 548

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Liverpool Empire

26Feb

By Grace AnnabelNo Comments

North West

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Liverpool Empire

Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures company returns to revive the timeless classic ‘Swan Lake’ on the 30th Anniversary Tour. Bourne names the production ‘next generation’ for a distinct reason. This production brought Swan Lake into the new age, which included amending characters to reflect a truthful modern-day production (such as the prominent character of the Swan/The Stranger being played by a male performer rather than female, executed seamlessly by Jackson Fisch). If you attend the show expecting to see an exact replica of the original Swan Lake, this show might not be for you, however it may just be even better. As the house lights dimmed and the show began, I was thrilled to hear the addition of a live orchestra for this production, which was a treat. There is something so specia...

Only Fools and Horses: The Hit Musical – Leeds Grand

26Feb

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Only Fools and Horses: The Hit Musical – Leeds Grand

Once upon a time before catch up TV millions of people used to sit around in their millions on Christmas Day to watch hit shows with Only Fools and Horses being an annual festive ratings buster. So, it was obvious it would become a stage show, but what was more surprising that the antics of dodgy Peckham street trader Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter and his gormless bruv Rodney would end up as the sort of musical Cockney knees up you might have dahn the boozer. Thankfully the producers have gone for early Fools and Horses before the show really jumped the shark when the Trotters actually became millionaires, so Granddad is their sidekick rather than that unfunny buffoon Uncle Albert. The TV series was created by legendary comedy writer John Sullivan, and his son Jim, working with comedy grea...

26Feb

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

The Merchant of Venice 1936 – The Lowry

The timing of this production could not be better, setting as it does one of Shakespeare’s most problematic plays amid the rise and fall of Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists in mid-thirties England. With certain tech giants performing “Roman salutes” and the frightening rise of fascist political parties taking place across Europe, we seem to be returning to the dark days of the 1930s. This adaptation of Shakespeare’s play powerfully brings to life the vicious remorselessness of bigotry and how it can be fought and defeated. Projected onto the back wall were the sensationalist antisemitic headlines of the day, newsreel clips of fascist marches and Mosley’s call for “Britain First.” The frightening echoes of what is happening now were stark but the play also reminded us that th...

26Feb

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Ghost Stories – The Lowry

It was with a definite buzz in the air that I settled into my seat at Salford’s Lowry Theatre for the opening night of Ghost Stories. The packed theatre hummed with excitement and anticipation and a slightly nervous edge could be felt in the air enhanced by gentle, quietly eerie music With the Safety Curtain still lowered, all that could be seen was a trim, modern lectern holding small glass of water and a light awaiting a lecturer to come along a breathe life into it. As the opening moment screeched into the auditorium the audience screamed their response and 90 minutes of captivating theatre began. Photo: Hugo Glendinning Entering the stage as leading parapsychologist we meet Professor Goodman who immediately took control of the space and the narrative. Clad in the corduroy armo...

Pride & Prejudice (Sort of) – Richmond Theatre

26Feb

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

Pride & Prejudice (Sort of) – Richmond Theatre

Welcome to the story of Jane Austin’s most famous novel Pride & Prejudice like you have never seen it before. This is not a serene period drama, but a love story between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, and the Bennet’s family race against time to get their five daughters married off for financial security. Yes it is familiar, but this is five women calling themselves the ‘servants of house’ telling the story from a whole new perspective. Right from the first few lines you start to get a feel of what is to come ‘in a good way’ comedy, mayhem and female drama. The story lands in the present day, with familiar language and terminology, including expletives not for the faint hearted which drew gasps from the audience. The five female performers acted out ‘...

Oppenheimer – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

25Feb

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

Oppenheimer – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

This week The Altrincham Garrick Playhouse bravely take on the beast that is ‘Oppenheimer’. Most will have first become aware of Oppenheimer in 2023, as it was Christopher Nolan’s award winning movie. It is likely then, that in relation to its film success that this version, directed by John Cunningham and Carole Carr will naturally cause audiences to compare the two, although it seems that both offer something very different. Written by Tom Morton-Smith, the play depicts the years between 1930 and 1945 and centres around the lead character, J Robert Oppenheimer. It essentially relates to the legacy he left in the world of physics in his development of the atomic bomb. However, more specifically, the story is very much a personal one and relays the human behind the science. ...

25Feb

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

The Flames – Traverse Theatre

The Flames is a performance company for people over the age of fifty. Each member of the ensemble (I counted approximately 22) tells a moving story from their own past. The theme of the stories is ikigai, a Japanese term often translated as “purpose”. Ikigai is about the things that bring value and meaning to life. Each performer speaks in turn, while the others set the scene with movement (choreographed by Aya Kobayashi), reacting with excitement or disdain to the speaker; becoming waves, or an ID parade; stamping out the rhythm of a train. They tell stories about lifelong friendships; sleeping rough in Helsinki; and uncovering family secrets. One participant tells us about the time she literally walked a mile in someone else’s shoes. She ended up with sore feet. Film footage (desig...

25Feb

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

La Traviata – Opera House

Ellen Kent’s current revival of her original production relishes its traditional 19th Century roots and delivers a truly musical feast to dine upon at whose heart lies a love story that draws upon Alexandre Dumas the Younger’s real-life doomed love affair with well-known courtesan, Marie Duplessis. We open with Violetta (Viktoria Melnyk), aided by her friend Flora (Yelyzaveta Bielous) hosting a lavish party where she is introduced by Gastone (Ruslan Pacatovici) to his friend, Alfredo Germont (Davit Sumbadze), a fervent admirer, who is more concerned for her failing health than her escort, Barone Douphal (Vitalii Cebotari). When Alfredo declares his love for her she wonders if he could be the one amidst her desire to be free to live her life. A year on and Alfredo and Violetta have be...

25Feb

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Madama Butterfly – Opera House

Every betrayal begins with trust and curiously this production of Madama Butterfly became more powerful simply because of where the orchestra came from. As they say on the telly when the football scores come on look away now if you don’t want to know the essential twist in the plot of this opera. Many will be aware of how this story unfolds but if you don’t want to know, stop reading now. I usually avoid giving the plot away in my reviews but the intersection of life and art that this production unwittingly brought means I have to mention it to do it justice. At the centre of the play is a betrayal by an American and the music for this production was played by the Orchestra of the Ukrainian Opera and Ballet Theatre, Kyiv. I hate to bring politics into a work of art but the betray...

25Feb

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

London

Otherland – Almeida Theatre

Otherland is a remarkable, poignant, and emotionally all-encompassing play that explores love, the beautiful and terrifying nature of change, and the ‘many myriads’ of womanhood. In her ‘Note from the Author’, Chris Bush states that she aimed to ‘write with a vulnerability’ she never had before, but nonetheless create a ‘theatrically expansive… rollercoaster’. Well, if that was the goal, she’s passed with flying colours. Jo and Harry, despite a picture-perfect wedding and 5 years or marriage, are breaking up. Harry, assigned male at birth, needs to become her true self and Jo, though entirely supportive of Harry’s decision, needs space to figure out what she wants. She wants to be ‘unplugged’, for a while at least. We’re offered a window into their lives and the journeys they go on, bot...