REVIEWS Archives - Page 147 of 342

13Feb

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Madama Butterfly – Edinburgh Playhouse

Three weeks into a five-month tour of the UK, Director Ellen Kent brings the Ukrainian Opera and Ballet Theatre, Keiv, to Edinburgh Playhouse with a triple bill of La Bohème, Madama Butterfly and Aida, playing on consecutive nights. This is quite an undertaking for any company, but Ellen Kent who is celebrating thirty years of bringing opera and ballet to the UK was never likely to take the easy option. And if this powerful rendition of Puccini’s masterpiece, Madama Butterfly, does not move you, the finale featuring a passionately sung Ukrainian National Anthem, together with ubiquitous blue and yellow flag, surely will. Madama Butterfly is perhaps the best known of Italian composer, Giacomo Puccini’s 12 Opera output. The story is set in 1904, when the Russo Japanese war is taking plac...

13Feb

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

Cirque Berserk! – Riverside Studios

Imagine you could fly. Imagine that the air is your house, and that floating above the ground is where you thrive and show your true self, shining and gliding without any efforts. And then, you will understand what it feels to see Cirque Berserk! Celebrating its tenth anniversary with a series of performances in Riverside Studios, this amazing theatre-circus spectacular combines contemporary circus-style artistry with a very traditional circus feeling in some of its acts. Inside of the stage, from the very beginning of the performance there is a huge cage in the shape of a ball, creating anticipation for what is presented as the main event, although every single moment of this show is charged with as much adrenaline and astonishing acrobatics. Starting with a group of acrobats jumpi...

13Feb

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

She – Tara Theatre

Come into the life of two or 14 characters, from birth to death, and live, laugh, sing and cry with them. We challenge you not to. That could be in the doorstep of Tara Theatre when "SHE" is on. "SHE", written by Anthony Clark, is a play comprised by seven short plays. Though largely unconnected, the stories remain attached one to the other through the work of the two young actors on an almost unchanging space, that becomes resignified through the words and actions of the characters in each piece. The interestingly simple design of the space, in charge of Jessica Curtis, domestic but ambiguous, makes us believe that all those spaces could actually look like that, precarious and almost decadent, yet endearing and warm. Loosely inspired by the Seven Ages speech in Shakespeare's As You...

12Feb

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

This is the Land – Vault Festival

Five ghost-like, unidentifiable, unreal performers, all in black, inhabit the stage from start to end and present a visceral and powerful series of images, movement and sound sequences occasionally breathing life into props around- chairs, threads of cotton, grocery and coats! Directed by Mary Steadman and created in collaboration with performers Leeza Jessie, Alice Barton, Xavier De Santos, Samuel De La Torre, and Sofia Velez, This is the Land indeed creates an atmosphere of dream-like liminality using themes associated with the cycle of seasons. It does so by channelling some narratives or images that might emerge using the archetype of Trickster- the one who defies conventional behaviour and is not afraid to experiment. While it was not always possible to comprehend a singular n...

Love Beyond (Act of Remembrance) – Traverse Theatre

12Feb

By Louise BalaguerNo Comments

Scotland

Love Beyond (Act of Remembrance) – Traverse Theatre

Love Beyond is a moving and deeply poetic piece of theatre. Part of MANIPULATE Festival 2023, and presented by Raw Material and Vanishing Point, the two performances at the Traverse Theatre on Friday 10th February and Saturday 11th February mark its UK Premiere. And what a successful premiere it was. With a sold-out performance and bustling bar filled with excitement both before and after the show, the awe felt by the audience was palpable. Written by Glasgow-based Singaporean theatre maker Ramesh Meyyappan and directed by Matthew Lenton, the story follows Harry (played by Meyyappan himself), an elderly man with dementia and sign language user, as he moves into a new home, and is subsequently flooded with memories of past times spent with his wife. His first interaction with his carer,...

Who’s Afraid of Mikey Garland? – Hope Street Theatre

12Feb

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Who’s Afraid of Mikey Garland? – Hope Street Theatre

Drawing upon his own experiences of homelessness from the age of five, Liverpool-based rapper Mikey Garland narrates the course of his life around his debut album of the same title in this production from ArtsGroupie CIC. The show carries a content warning relating to themes which may be triggering to some people, so audience discretion is advised. Garland employs a simple set with minimal props to support the stages of his journey over the course of the last twenty-eight years and this works well given he is a visually engaging performer with numerous costume changes supporting the performance of each of the twelve songs. The stage descends to darkness between songs with a voice over detailing the background experiences in Garland’s life at each point in time. Whilst this effective...

Live to Tell (a Proposal for) The Madonna Jukebox Musical – Omnibus Theatre

12Feb

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Live to Tell (a Proposal for) The Madonna Jukebox Musical – Omnibus Theatre

You may have noticed that Madonna is having a moment. Again. She’s announced a tour that’s seen a demented scramble for tickets. Her appearance, following surgical face-tuning is hotly debated on TV, TikTok and the 77 bus to Tooting. The 64-year-old appears to be getting high and hanging out with hip-hop dons and trans stars, while sharing her exploits on Insta like a gobby teen. This showbizzy noise almost drowns out her musical back catalogue and it’s all a stark contrast to her revolutionary HIV/AIDS activism in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Madonna bigged up safe sex, challenged HIV stigma and supported the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) on her 1987 tour. She delivered this advocacy loudly, when it was controversial and potentially damaging to her career. Madonna released...

The Lehman Trilogy – Gillian Lynne Theatre

12Feb

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

The Lehman Trilogy – Gillian Lynne Theatre

“He dances so hard, he doesn’t hear the music stop” Sam Mendes’ production returns with terrific direction from Zoe Ford Burnett. It is 1844 and embracing America with wonder, Henry Lehman (Nigel Lindsay) starts a fabric business with his brothers, Mayer (Hadley Fraser) and Emanuel (Michael Balogun). The three begin to build a business empire of magnificent scope. We watch the Lehman men across several generations; their brotherly disputes, marriages and how the business grows and expands and its drastic fall in 2008. Where to begin – this was an exquisitely crafted production, with all of the elements feeding beautifully into each other to tell the brimming story of the Lehman family. The concept of evolving is introduced early, as Henry changes his name from a less pronounceable J...

12Feb

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

David Copperfield – Riverside Studios

David Copperfield is one of the best-loved of Charles Dickens' novels and is believed to be at least a semi-autobiographical narration of his life. He said that Copperfield was always his "favourite child". Dickens' family were extremely poor; he was forced as a young boy to work in a factory in conditions that informed his later efforts to achieve social reform by highlighting the cruel lives of London's poorest. Dickens ensured that his writings could reach the general public by publishing in magazines, so that the poorer in society could read them when they could not afford books. Simon Reade's innovative adaptation re-imagines the story as a Victorian Music Hall performance, a popular form of theatre in the 19th century, which reflects the period of Dickens' and Copperfield's li...

12Feb

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Fabulett 1933 – Drayton Arms Theatre

"Fabulett 1933" at the Drayton Arms Theatre presented a thought-provoking and bold take on the impact of the rise of fascism in 1933 Germany on the queer community. Michael Trauffer, who wrote and performed the one-man musical, deserves applause for his ambition in connecting a historical piece to today's world, where many societies are moving to the right. He did a fine job in embodying Felix, the host of Berlin's “most decadent” club, with his portrayal of the flamboyant character, wearing various costumes, including black leather, big skirts, sequined caps and a whip. However, the limited time for plot development and a lack of tension throughout the piece detracted from its overall impact. The inclusion of surprising details, such as the attendance of Nazi officers at the club, of ...