REVIEWS Archives - Page 11 of 641

8Oct

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

10 Loves – The Bread & Roses Theatre

If a law required you to tell your partner that you love them ten times a day, would you do it because you do actually love them, or because you have been told to do so? Would you trust your partner when they said it back? Does saying it change the way you feel about the person one way or the other? Written and directed by Sining Gui, 10 Loves brings to life a dystopian alternate reality. One in which the government sets the rules for relationships. In this world, the law requires every married couple to spend an uninterrupted half an hour alone with each other. Additionally, they are required to say “I love you” to each other ten times a day. Taking us through this reality is a young couple played by Moana Doll and Daniel Hintner. A constant presence in their lives is a screen monit...

7Oct

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Barnum – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Of spectacle and razzamatazz there was no shortage. For pure froth, noise and escapism this production scores high. But absent were suspense and drama, although some comedy dribbled through here and there. Spectacle, like chocolate cake when relentless and overloaded, loses its flavour. History presents contrasting portraits of P T Barnum, but none were explored regarding his complex, contradictory personality. As a celebration of the man’s chutzpah the two themes to the fore were Barnum’s relationship with his wife Charity, and the ‘theory’ of humbug or, ‘trimmings’. Charmingly executed but devoid of any jeopardy concerning Barnum’s tougher episodes. All the cast gave it their everything, Matt Rawle (P T himself) and Monique Young (his wife, Charity) leading from the front, bringin...

Little Shop of Horrors – Hope Mill Theatre

7Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Little Shop of Horrors – Hope Mill Theatre

This autumn the award-winning Hope Mill Theatre has been converted into Skid Row as Audrey II takes up residence until the end of November. If tonight’s press night was any gauge on how well this show is going to do, I would snap up a ticket NOW, as they will not last long. A shy florist, Seymour, discovers a mysterious plant that feeds on blood and names it Audrey II after his crush, Audrey. As the plant grows, Seymour gains fame and fortune, but its appetite becomes increasingly dangerous. With Audrey II demanding human victims, Seymour must choose between success and morality, while trying to protect Audrey, before the monstrous plant takes over his life and threatens everyone around him. I have to say Rob Kelly, the casting director could not have done a better job with this prod...

It Walks Around the House at Night – Hull Truck Theatre

7Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

It Walks Around the House at Night – Hull Truck Theatre

As if I hadn’t jumped out of my skin enough on Tuesday evening, while watching the ghostly It Walks Around the House at Night, at Hull Truck Theatre, my worst nightmare came true. You see, there was nothing between me, on Row A, and a black, floor-length curtain through which anyone - or anything - could jump out and, shudder, get me. My imagination was running riot. Sure enough, halfway through the scary performance (a ThickSkin production), I heard a rustle nearby and my no-longer-imaginary figure emerged in the pitch dark. I managed to stifle an embarrassing scream - it was a fellow theatregoer popping out, I assume, to spend a penny. Her reappearance a few minutes later confirmed my assumption. Phew! Taking my seat a few minutes before the start, gave me time to peruse the sta...

6Oct

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Franz & Marie – Charing Cross Theatre

Franz & Marie is a tragic love story set in 19th-century Europe, where men are stationed on the front line and life is shaped by war, poverty and violence. At its heart is the relationship between Franz Woyzeck, played by Brenock O’Connor, and Marie, played by Jade Oswald, who have recently welcomed a newborn baby. Desperate to leave the front line and build a life with Marie and their child, Franz turns to medical experiments conducted by doctors to earn extra money. O’Connor is exceptional, portraying Franz as a vulnerable and increasingly traumatised man subjected to ludicrous experiments, including being forced to eat nothing but peas. As the production progresses, we see the psychological impact of war take its toll, with Franz’s mental health deteriorating before our eyes....

6Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Mean Girls – Bradford Alhambra

Gangs of teenagers were eagerly posing with the publicity posters outside this historic venue keen to check out the theatrical version of Tina Fey's cult classic movie. It was refreshing to see so many young faces in the audience as some of them might be experiencing the same sort of high school pressures and teen angst that Fey’s witty book full of smart one liners so accurately captured, which was no doubt based on her own experiences. Home schooled Cady had returned from the wilds of Kenya to be plunged into a hormone driven jungle where different packs wander the corridors of an Illinois High School preying on each other. Top of the food chain were the Plastics led by Regina and her two sycophantic sidekicks Gretchen and Karen. Egged on by arty outsiders Damian and Janis, the sch...

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) – Buxton Opera House

6Oct

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

North West

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) – Buxton Opera House

It’s the 1880s, and in Jane Austen’s classic romantic novel, the five Bennet sisters are seeking love and the security of marriage while navigating society’s rules, expectations and challenges. It is a story that is well known by most people – even if only through film or television – but it is a story that still resonates. A story of a young woman who knows what she wants, and that is to find love her way. That story is brilliantly told in this adaptation of Pride & Prejudice by writer Isobel McArthur, who also directs the production. Her goal was to make Austen’s novel more accessible, and she has absolutely done that. By promoting the use of regional accents, by weaving modern music and vocabulary into the script, and by providing a visual setting that is easily and quickly under...

The Pleasures of Fanny: A Murder Mystery Musical – Brick Lane Music Hall

5Oct

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

The Pleasures of Fanny: A Murder Mystery Musical – Brick Lane Music Hall

Nestled in a Grade II-listed church in Silvertown, the Brick Lane Music Hall prides itself on being the “world's only permanent home for music hall”. Having never visited the venue before, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the spectacle truly wowed me from the moment I walked through the door. Colourful decorations adorn every nook and cranny, with hand-painted signage and more than a touch of old-school British camp. You truly feel like you’ve stepped into another time, and the attention to detail is superb. As is tradition in music hall, all of Brick Lane Music Hall’s performances include a full meal within the very reasonable ticket price, making it great value for a light-hearted night out. The food was tasty, the bar well stocked, and the staff were great, although it would have be...

5Oct

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

The Farmer’s Wife – Theatre by the Lake

Set around the kitchen table in the farm kitchen, The Farmer’s Wife holds nothing back in telling her guests, the audience, just what life is really like living off the land on the Cumbrian Fells. Inspired by the memoir A Farmer’s Wife by Helen Rebanks, the new play by Hannah Khalil, The Farmer’s Wife, had its World Premiere at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick just a few miles from where Rebanks lives. Having read the book, I did wonder how they would incorporate the beautifully eclectic style of stories from the Rebanks family life, recipes, photos and letters. However, this was achieved superbly with the sharing of the baking and sorting of an old tin box. This is a story about the changing lives of women living and working on the farms. Three generations: daughter, mother, grandm...

5Oct

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

The Brown Suite – Richmond Theatre

The Brown Suite where Soul Tells the Story: Six lives, One night, One dance floor. It’s 1970 in New York city and over the course of one night, the dance floor becomes a stage within the stage: a place “where friendships shift, new connections emerge and long-held tensions finally begin to surface”. Soul and dance theatre brings six friends together in a city where music is more than entertainment, it is identity, release and survival. Choreographed to the music from James Brown, Sam Cooke and Etta James. From the opening moments, The Brown Suite captures the pulse of a city that refuses to stand still. The atmosphere is charged with the spirit of New York's soul scene, where movement speaks as loudly as dialogue. The dancers don't simply perform the story; they em...