REVIEWS Archives - Page 141 of 548

NOW That’s What I Call A Musical – Bradford Alhambra

16Oct

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

NOW That’s What I Call A Musical – Bradford Alhambra

Back in the eighties when CDs first came on the market NOW That’s What I Call Music! compilations packed full of mega chart hits dominated the hit parade, so it’s no shock that a jukebox musical version is on the road. We’re back in 1989 with Brummie best mates livewire April and sensible Gemma, who for some reason is in love with Jay Osmond, but years later like many intense teen friendships they have drifted apart until a school reunion. Shock, horror - it’s all soundtracked by the sort of middle of the road bangers featured on the NOW collections. Pippa Evans' slightly flabby book is full of eighties inspired gags, but she does cleverly weave the narrative from 1989 to the reunion, and then backwards and forwards. Evans makes some good points about the fragile nature of friendship...

16Oct

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

Becoming Nancy – The Rep, Birmingham

This musical is staging it’s UK premiere at The Rep in Birmingham. Becoming Nancy is based on the novel of the same name by Terry Ronald. With choreography and direction by Jerry Mitchell (Legally Blonde, Kinky Boots, Pretty Woman: The Musical and many more) and music and Lyrics by Geroge Stiles and Anthony Drewe you can be assured you are in safe hands for a great evening of entertainment. Set in 1979, Becoming Nancy tells the tale of schoolboy David Starr. In his room decorated with posters of 70’s icons, he dreams of being a star. He has a talent that is spotted by his drama teacher who casts him as a surprising role in the school play. What will happen if he takes the role? How will his family and the kids at school react? His decision will start a chain reaction that ensures nothin...

What we talk about when we talk about Anne Frank – Marylebone Theatre

16Oct

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

What we talk about when we talk about Anne Frank – Marylebone Theatre

Two Jewish couples: one secular, the other orthodox. The first, Phil and Debbie, live in their lavish house in Florida along with their son Trevor (who, by the way, is a Pastafarian and worships the Flying Spaghetti Monster). The second, Shoshana and Yerucham, live in Israel, have a large family, and seem to live by every rule in the book. When such contrasting characters meet, there are bound to be sparks. The play is based on a 2011 short story by Nathan Englander, which he adapted for the stage incorporating the most recent developments in the Middle East. In the hands of director Patrick Marber, it grows into a magnificent creature crackling with electricity. Each character is deeply layered, and the tones are brought out beautifully through the course of the play. Debbie,...

Tubular Bells – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

16Oct

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Tubular Bells – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

It’s funny to think that one of the albums driving so many into the arms of Punk back in 1976 should have been so instrumental in launching Richard Branson’s fledgling Virgin Records. Released in 1973 it – not least the money its success generated – enabled the label, a few years later, to sign and propel the short-lived, incendiary career of The Sex Pistols. Further intriguing that a piece, at points ethereal and plangent, should end up soundtracking a film like The Exorcist. Though the haunting aspect of the snatches employed in the film have in no way been diminished or Tarantino’d, representative of the fact they were part of a work more substantial; for here we are, over 50 years later, with a superb band, marshalled by director Robin Smith, bringing it to life on stage. Something the...

Q the Music: The James Bond Concert Spectacular – Indigo at the 02

15Oct

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Q the Music: The James Bond Concert Spectacular – Indigo at the 02

Q The Music: The James Bond Concert Spectacular truly lives up to its name as a remarkable tribute to the iconic music of the James Bond film series. Set against the backdrop of a live orchestra, the orchestra expertly guides the audience through the memorable soundtracks that have defined so many of these legendary Hollywood blockbusters. The orchestra itself is outstanding, effortlessly transitioning from the slow, dramatic pieces that build tension to the faster, more action-packed scores that accompany Bond’s most thrilling moments. Their versatility shone through, capturing the mood of each scene with precision. With such an extensive catalogue to choose from, it was impressive how well the orchestra covered a wide array of fan favourites. As they mentioned during the show, if your...

14Oct

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

Don Carlos – Operaen, Det KGL Teater

There are different versions of Verdi’s masterpiece about love and duty with director Davide Livermore’s new production drawing on the 1884 Milan version, performed in Italian, which jettisons the original’s scene-setting first act, and relies upon strong performances from the cast to move the production along, which it gets here in droves. It's a tough story with far too real parallels to ongoing events in the Ukraine and Middle East which serves to reinforce the piece’s uncompromising assessment of the ways of human nature as we are thrust via a love triangle into a courtly world, although not 16th Century Spain here, but rather that of the Franco era, emboldened by costume designer Mariana Fracasso, and to which the principles of religious Inquisition and destructive suppression of p...

A Night at the Opera: Flat Pack Music Gala Concert – Chester Cathedral

14Oct

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

A Night at the Opera: Flat Pack Music Gala Concert – Chester Cathedral

Chester Cathedral is many things to many people: a vibrant community of worship, an ancient abbey, an archaeological treasure, a cultural hub, a centre of musical excellence and a unique blend of medieval and modern history. Flat Pack Music’s gala concert, A Night at the Opera, added another layer as we were taken through twenty-three operatic classics that gave everyone taking part the opportunity to shine: whether this was your first experience of opera or you’re a more seasoned pro, this production was an absolute treat. Featuring L’orchestra dell’Arte and joined by Mersey Wave Choir and the Runcorn Community Chorus this spectacular candle-lit evening served up five professional soloists: soprano Heather Buckmaster; tenor Joseph Buckmaster; baritone Matthew Durkan; mezzo-soprano Imog...

Dementia The Musical – The Sudio, Edinburgh

14Oct

By H.S. BakerNo Comments

Scotland

Dementia The Musical – The Sudio, Edinburgh

Written by Ron Coleman (aka The Demented Poet), himself a dementia sufferer, the inspiration for this thought-provoking musical was three people living with the diagnosis. They are James McKillop, Nancy McAdam and Agnes Houston, dementia activists, who are portrayed on stage by three 30 somethings. More of that later. Having started life as a play, it soon turned into a musical, composed by Sophie Bancroft with additional music by Andrew Eaton-Lewis. The narrative is based on the campaigning work of the three dementia activists and set in the near future when the fictitious British Bill of Rights allows the system to control individuals with dementia, deciding for them where they live and what they can do. Karen Tennent’s set design is simple and versatile,...

14Oct

By Mark HumphreysNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Leeds Grand

The journey to Leeds across the M62 saw far from midsummer weather – gusting winds, driving rain, whirling leaves – but once inside the Grand Theatre and Opera House a much warmer welcome awaited. Opera North’s revival of Martin Duncan’s production is directed this time by Matthew Eberhardt. Johan Engels’ set is minimalist but very effective – translucent Perspex pillars signify the trees of the forest, whilst the canopy (or are they dream bubbles?) float high above the stage. These pillars then take the colour of Bruno Poet’s subtle lighting design, which contrasts beautifully with the 1960s-flower-power-style outfits of the lovers, Helena and Demitrius, Hermia and Lysander. And setting this production in the swinging sixties, when the work was first performed, with its ...

12Oct

By Helen JonesNo Comments

North West

Barbara Nice: Fun – Waterside Arts

Barbara Nice, the stand-up comedy alter ego of actress Janice Connolly, returned to the region of her birth to appear at Waterside Arts with her new tour entitled Fun. The character of Barbara Nice cannot avoid comparisons with Victoria Wood in her housewife persona and Caroline Aherne's Mrs Merton. This comparison is not always favourable. A Stockport housewife, cleaner to the stars, the entire act is a caricature of a northern homemaker of thirty years ago with most of the comedy feeling like it could have been performed then too. Even then it would have felt dated. There are occasional more modern notes, but the majority of the show is very much based on the era of the seventies and eighties. It is very much a woman of a certain age with a principal target aud...