REVIEWS Archives - Page 16 of 428

Stand Up Horror – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

5Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Stand Up Horror – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

Alex Staniforth, actor, writer and tour guide is an old hand at the Edinburgh Horror Festival, and a regular performer at Banshee Labyrinth throughout the year, and it shows. His easy and warm interaction with the room between generous gulps from his pint allows the group to relax together and the story that unfolds between them to flow organically, and hilariously. The small size of the audience in the intimate Cave Bar space ensures that everyone contributes - whether they want to or not! The story as it develops under Staniforth’s tutelage is guaranteed to take some unlikely turns, and tonight is no exception. Elon Musk makes an unscheduled appearance, making our heroine an offer she can’t refuse for her flying keyboard, meanwhile the hordes of zombies heading for Edinburgh Ca...

Dracula’s Guest – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

5Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Dracula’s Guest – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

The rock carved chambers at Banshee Labyrinth are highly appropriate for the annual horror festival but are also arguably among the most testing in Edinburgh for performers, where the combination of (extreme!) background pub noise, very late audience arrivals and tiny cave-like spaces, with minimal tech and set, provide a stern test for their theatrical efforts. However, I’m pleased to report that tonight, Frederick Bang’s sensitively played Jonathan Harker and Magnus Kelly’s towering Dracula manage to pull off an unlikely triumph in the face of such minor issues. Indeed, by the end of the climactic and bloody performance, there seemed to be as many peering in (and cheering!) from the labyrinth corridor beyond as in the room itself! Produced by Martyr, a Glasgow based theatre compan...

Slave: A Question of Freedom – Riverside Studios

2Nov

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Slave: A Question of Freedom – Riverside Studios

Slave: A Question of Freedom is a powerful performance that transports the audience to the Nuba Mountains, where we are introduced to Mende Nazer in her childhood. We see Mende with her family, singing, dancing, playing, attending school, and enjoying the wonders of life. This remarkable true story soon shifts gears, confronting us with the brutal reality and horrors inflicted by humankind. We witness the devastation as Mende’s village is raided, families are killed, and children are taken—forced into lives they never wanted or deserved. The play delves into the ongoing existence of modern slavery, vividly portraying the tragic reality that such horrors are still a part of our world. The scenes make references to incidents including sexual violence, murder, female circumcision and many ...

2Nov

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Cirque du Magique – Wolverhampton Grand

I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of the great Philip Astley who, in 1770, gathered together a disparate band of acrobats, unicyclists, tight rope walkers and stunt performers to entertain the crowd in the gaps of his horse-riding show inadvertently creating what we know today as circus. Over the years the format has grown and evolved with clowns thrown in and a ringmaster added to offer some semblance of authority until it has become today what Barnum bombastically described as “The greatest show on Earth!” and after two hundred and fifty years it continues to grow - and today we welcome its latest incarnation into the ring! For those of you who thought Richard Cadell was first and foremost the right-hand man of one of the most iconic characters in British entertainment - a chara...

The Sculptor – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

2Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Sculptor – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

A fascinating introduction to the world of ‘the anatomical Venus’, we are immediately presented in glorious projected technicolour with an 18th-century reclining beauty complete with pearls, ecstatic expression and lift-out intestines. Not So Nice! Theatre company present The Sculptor, written by Charlotte Smith and Directed by Grace Baker. Fashioned from seven anatomically correct layers, life sized and made of wax, but with real hair, the Venus was a ready alternative (to cadavers) for the keen medical students of the day to pull apart: heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach, intestines, ending in a teeny foetus, curled in the womb. Our short play tonight focuses on the fascination of this era, in which the study of nature was also the study of philosophy, and where a dead body cre...

2Nov

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

How To Be Brave – Hull Truck Theatre

The Godber Studio was very well-attended on Friday evening, when Hull Truck Theatre hosted How To Be Brave. Writer Louise Beech cleverly intertwined the lives of the two main characters in this true-life drama - one a Merchant Seaman in the Second World War, the other a 10-year-old girl. And, despite the 64-year gap in their stories, the two had an undeniable connection. The Able Seaman, Colin Armitage (Jacob Ward), was Beech’s grandfather, and the girl her daughter, Katy. And it’s her storytelling to young Katy of Armitage’s horrific ordeal during the war that proved to be of huge benefit for her daughter, who had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes; helping her to accept and cope with her condition. Five very talented performers brought How To Be Brave to life, on the small s...

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time – Forum Theatre

31Oct

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time – Forum Theatre

Well, where do I start with this review? Being a Stockport lad myself I am quite familiar with the work of Simon Stephens, but I have to admit this is the first time I have come across this particular play. There were definitely times during the production when I struggled to comprehend what was happening, but that was more due to my lack of understanding rather than anything lacking in the production. Once I got into the characters and began to realise what the story was about I found myself thoroughly absorbed. This play was first presented to the public a mere 12 years ago in London and this production is the Stockport premier of this play. For others like myself who are not familiar with the storyline, I think a brief synopsis would be appropriate. The lead character ...

31Oct

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

Guards at the Taj – Orange Tree Theatre

For centuries, Taj Mahal has held the fascination of the world as a monument of love, an architectural masterpiece that not only is breathtakingly beautiful, but also spoke of the power held by Shahjahan, the Mughal emperor who commissioned it. But great beauty comes at great price. Legend goes that after Taj Mahal was built, Shahjahan ordered that all the artisans who worked on it have their hands chopped off so that they never replicate it ever again (there is no historical evidence to this having happened). Guards at the Taj, written by Rajiv Joseph and directed by Adam Karim, explores the human and emotional cost of creating something magnificent. Two soldiers, Babur and Humayun – namesakes of Shahjahan’s ancestors, as it happens – guard the Taj as it nears completion. Babur is p...

31Oct

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

KIN – HOME, Manchester

Steph (Kerry Wilson-Parry) and Kay (Roberta Kerr) are sisters in law. They are not close, are very different women and have been relatively estranged for years. Following the funeral of Bob/Robert - Steph’s brother and Kay’s husband, they find themselves in Kay’s middle class, middle England drawing room where both tensions and whisky flow and where family secrets emerge and shocking revelations are made. Presented in a naturalist style, designer Rachel Dennis recreates the tastefully bland home of the smugly comfortable. If you like a dado rail and a decanter clad drinks cabinet you’ll be happy as the proverbial pig. Wilson-Parry is engaging and vibrant as Steph, Bob’s younger sister. Having been born and raised into an aristocratic family, surrounded by nannies and privilege ...

31Oct

By Phoebe Olivia Sian HobsonNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Ghost The Musical – Bradford Alhambra

This musical makes you finally realise what Frankie goes to Hollywood has been singing about, the power of love. Passion, tears and heartbreak were left on that stage on Tuesday night, truly a sensational story about the afterlife of modern day Sam Wheat played by John St Clair, alongside his living soulmate Molly Jenson (Rebekah Lowings).Their love affair takes a terrifying turn splitting them apart, but Sam’s soul lingers and the love continues, the performance was remarkable in portraying the passion between the pair despite his death. Photo: Alastair Muir Bruce Joel Rubin’s famous narrative was displayed on that stage beautifully with grace, leaving the audience in awe of the talent that was shared with them. The show was a credit to the deeply loved original but also featured ne...