REVIEWS Archives - Page 123 of 409

10Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Rocky Horror Show – Hull New Theatre

When the Rocky Horror Show comes to town, you can guarantee fishnet stockings, suspenders, bustiers, saucy maids’ costumes et al will be much in evidence. And that’s just in the audience. So, it was on Monday night when theatregoers pulled out all the stops to show their support for this iconic production, which comes to Hull New Theatre as part of a world tour. It was great fun, pre curtain up, checking out the get-ups of the brave souls who had dared - often, to bare - with all shapes, sizes and genders joining in the fun. They are an essential part of proceedings. This legendary rock ’n’ roll musical has been wowing audiences for 50 years and doesn’t look like retiring any time soon. The well-known story tells of innocent college kids, Brad (Reece Budín) and his fiancée, ...

9Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Light House – Leeds Playhouse

A lone woman comes through the dry ice holding a lantern and looking serious. So, the initial thought is this one woman show is going to be a hour long misery fest. Thankfully it is the exact opposite as Alys Williams has written and performs a show that is warm, witty, always humane, but never afraid to delve into the challenges that mental health issues pose for those battling with their own minds, and for those around them. Cleverly she uses the standard protocol for what happens when a man goes overboard at sea as a metaphor for how society reacts when someone starts to struggle with their mental health, and it’s a motif she returns to throughout. What really gives The Light House resonance is Williams has based it on her own experience with a partner who does go overboard men...

The Titfield Thunderbolt – Rainhill Garrick Society

9Oct

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Titfield Thunderbolt – Rainhill Garrick Society

Director Judith Martindale blows new life into Philip Goulding’s stage adaptation of the 1952 Ealing comedy classic bringing the right amount of mayhem and merriment to the birthplace of the modern railway and it’s a theatrical treat well worth waiting for. Whilst Clifton (Rob Williams) and Mr Blakeworth (Tom Nevitt) discuss the imminent closure of their railway line, Lady Chesterfield (Tracey Duffy) and Reverend Weech (George Lowe) bring together the local residents including his niece, Joan (Jenny Martindale), retired track layer Dan Taylor (David Parker), and Mrs Bottomley (Ruth Profitt) to run it themselves, with the financial support of philanthropist Mr Valentine (Michael Brennan), who has a fondness for drinking, as well as those much-needed passengers (Angela Vose; Alison Mawdsl...

Irvine Welsh’s Porno – Liverpool Olympia

8Oct

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Irvine Welsh’s Porno – Liverpool Olympia

“Originals are always better than sequels”, unfortunately proven in this case, submerged within the shadows of the dizzying heights of its predecessor, Porno proves a bit of an anti-climax, despite its titillating title. Trainspotting, the 1993 debut novel written by Irvine Welsh, will provoke a range of reactions, especially for those of us who remember its cinematic debut back in 1996. Danny Boyle’s film successfully replicated the sensational, gutsy rawness of its live show. It showcased the intricacies of Welsh’s writing, in its innovative cinematography, iconic opening sequence (which could never be replicated today due to health & safety), and recognisable soundtrack. Trainspotting has firmly positioned itself as culturally significant, even described as a masterpiece. Its ‘Ch...

Jasdeep Singh Degun and the Scottish Ensemble – The Queens Hall, Edinburgh

8Oct

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Jasdeep Singh Degun and the Scottish Ensemble – The Queens Hall, Edinburgh

At The Queens Hall tonight Jasdeep Singh Degun sits cross-legged smiling and calm, cradling his sitar, on a raised Dias in the middle of the stage, and at his shoulder equally laid-back, Harkiret Singh Bahra, his regular accompanist on the Tabla, a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. In a semi-circle around the pair the Scottish Ensemble quintet are assembled, the violins of Jonathan Morton and Donald Grant, the viola of Jane Atkins, Naomi Pavri on Cello and Diane Clark on Double Bass. The striking difference is that Degun and Bahra do not have iPads in front of them streaming the music. As Degan explains in the excellent programme notes, ‘In Indian Classical music, we don’t get caught up in notation,… instead you should learn and embody the music in its entirity’. In an...

8Oct

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Head Set – Midlands Arts Centre

“Head Set”, Victoria Melody’s autobiographical performance piece of self- examination, seems to inhabit the little chartered hinterland between stand-up comedy and one-person show and feels unsure which camp it truly belongs to. That, however, doesn’t necessarily detract from all the truly positives this show offers. It’s the first date on a 26 date tours so a few minor glitches are to be expected. The stage is scattered with various props and flotsam and jetsam which have little to do with the show and are soon tidied away within the first few moments as Melody introduces her idiosyncratic personality, her mother and her comedy teacher both of whom work as a kind of Greek chorus throughout. The crux of the show is Melody’s inability to perform stand-up comedy. This may be a thinly veiled ...

Mozart, Made in Manchester – The Stoller Hall, Manchester

8Oct

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Mozart, Made in Manchester – The Stoller Hall, Manchester

It goes without saying that Mozart was a genius, the ultimate prodigious talent who could pick out tunes on the piano at the age of three and at four or five years old had started composing his first pieces of music. This concert was a celebration of the early Mozart and all the pieces played were composed before he was 15 years old. To think that this sublime music came from the pen of a teenager is amazing. The orchestra performed the overtures from Apollo et Hyacinthus and Bastien und Bastienne as well as the first four piano concertos. Conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy was an entertaining guide not just to the music but to the role of the conductor. He admitted he “talked too much” in rehearsal and his effusive love and passion for the music was clear and contagious. In an interesti...

8Oct

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Othello – Riverside Studios

The features which set this production of Othello apart are its length, only 100 minutes without an interval, and the casting of three actors to play the villain Iago. A full production of the Othello text would probably run to about three and a half hours although few productions are totally uncut. So, cutting it down so severely inevitably means that a lot of the background and subtlety of Shakespeare's text is lost, although the main plotline was preserved and presented in Shakespeare's language. The casting of the three Iago's was the defining characteristic of this production. The director Sinead Rushe, had apparently explored a similar methodology with Hamlet and says in an informative interview in the programme that this was intended to underline the conflict...

8Oct

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Part Vampire – Hope Street Theatre

Part Vampire, written by Kenny O’Connell and directed by Zara Marie Brown, with music by Matt Shaw and the cast, is a musical comedy which plays with classic and contemporary horror tropes om a fun and exciting story of the cutthroat environment of showbusiness and what people are willing to do to achieve success. The set features an ornate chair, polished coat stand and floral sofa, creating the impression of a well-kept, if slightly old fashioned home for Jack Moody (Phil Jones), a 67-year old former Hammer Horror extra who lives with his mother (Linzy Boden). The show does a good job of exploiting the cringey and camp reputation of Hammer Horror with its darker undertones and genuine scary moments. Jack enters the stage in a threadbare dressing gown and plays an emotional piece on...

And…And…And – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

8Oct

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

And…And…And – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Isla Cowan’s beautifully written new play is a gem. It focusses on the relationship between two young women in their last year at school whose lives are overshadowed by the climate emergency. The play opens on a beach where the two seventeen year olds are collecting litter (including a lot of plastic items). Their characters are brought to life by Caroline McKeown (Cassie) and Tiana Milne-Wilson (Claire). Those two very talented actors are totally convincing as the best friends. They have a very relaxed natural rapport but as the play develops and they seem to be growing apart, their emotionally charged scenes are perfecting pitched, and engrossing. Two wonderful performances. Cassie and Claire are both concerned by the climate crisis, but it is Cassie who is the activist. She wants ...