REVIEWS Archives - Page 18 of 428

Fly More Than You Fall – Southwark Playhouse Elephant

24Oct

By Amelia RoseNo Comments

London

Fly More Than You Fall – Southwark Playhouse Elephant

Just opened at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant, ‘Fly More Than You Fall’ is a new musical by Eric Holmes (Book/Lyrics) and Nat Zegree (Music/Lyrics). We meet Malia (Robyn Rose-Li) a 15-year-old writer with big dreams of going to camp this summer and finishing her first book about a bird, Willow (Maddison Bulleyment) who will finally reach the top of the mountain despite her broken wings. Malia’s parents warn her that life isn’t always as positive as she experiences it right now and surely enough, her mother Jennifer (Keala Settle) is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer that summer and rather than spending it at camp, Malia must stay home and spend her last moments with her mum. Death is universal and everyone in the audience has some relation to it, one way or another. It is important ...

Stones In His Pockets – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

24Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Stones In His Pockets – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

When a Hollywood studio arrives in the quiet, rural backwater of County Kerry in the west of Ireland to film their latest big budget drama ‘The Quiet Valley’, there is much excitement in the local community. Told through the eyes of Charlie (Gerard McCabe) and Jake (Shaun Blaney), this tale of thwarted ambition and lost opportunity veers starkly between farcical comedy and dark pathos without really convincing in either genre, despite the extremely strong performances from the gifted cast of two. Written by Marie Jones in 1996, ‘Stones’ has come to be regarded as an iconic show in its native Ireland, winning acclaim for its tragicomic depiction of the differences between the cruel reality of Irish rural life and its idealisation in film and television. Charlie and Jake are initially bot...

24Oct

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Nowhere – HOME Mcr

Where do you go when the unbearable becomes persistent? This is just one of the initial questions asked by Khalid Abdalla in his profound and beautiful piece of theatre, Nowhere, currently playing at HOME, Manchester. It’s a question that, given the current situation in the Middle East, slaps you in the face and makes you pay attention to what is about to be said. What follows is a personal history of multi-generational activism; friendship, love and loss; personal and political protest; family legacy and our personal history. It is Abdalla’s own history that inspires this journey. The son and grandson of political prisoners, it is his involvement in the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and the subsequent counter-revolution that shapes his journey. It is the stories of his forefathers and of...

Sealskin – The Arts Centre, Edge Hill University

24Oct

By Rebecca CaseyNo Comments

North West

Sealskin – The Arts Centre, Edge Hill University

Sealskin is based on a fable about a group of Selkies who appear at every full moon, they peel away their skin and dance. One evening a fisherman steals the skin of one of the Selkies and takes her home. The story is about the events that follow. The piece is devised by Tmesis Theatre and directed by Elinor Randle. A creative thought provoking, mystical tale that really is a must see. A talented, skilful, energetic ensemble cast including Stephanie Greer, Samual Perez Duran and Valentine Ojochegbe Onogu who have all truly mastered their craft. The striking red head Faye McCutcheon plays the leading Selkie, injecting a mermaid likeness to the role and taking us with her on her journey learning the human ways. A stand out performance as the mother of the fisherman, an elderly...

23Oct

By Amelia RoseNo Comments

London

Amaze – Criterion Theatre

Running for a limited time at the Criterion Theatre, Jamie Allan has brought his magic show ‘Amaze’ to London. Running just under 2 hours you get to witness his magical journey, starting all the way back as a child, being dragged to an antique shop by his mum and stumbling upon a heaped stack of magic books, hats and devices. Magic follows through his story, filled with eerie coincidences which can only be explained as fate- he is doing exactly what he should be doing and God, is he good. Allan, through his story reminds the audience that we, too should put more trust in fate, to celebrate who we are and what we love, to really trust the magic in life. Allan is incredibly inspired by his late parents who always shared his dream and would be astounded at where he is today. It is an incredib...

23Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Art – Sheffield Lyceum

Yasmina Reza’s comedy Art is a renown work and this production shows than signs of downing tools and allowing its acidic wit to pale. Three friends Serge, Marc and Yvan deconstruct their own friendship whilst attempting to assimilate an objective verdict on Serge’s new £200,000 baby – a ‘blank’ white canvas. Or as Serge puts it, a canvas with shades of grey, thin lines and spots of red. This red is certainly not to be seen, nor is the profoundness of the work as Marc sardonically blasts the piece and Serge’s heinous modernist taste. This ignited the fuse between the two, catching the somewhat neglected Yvan in the process, who certainly tries his best to mediate. Seann Walsh, Chris Harper and Aden Gillett play masterfully across a majestical yet understated set design. While Wals...

Legally Blonde The Musical – Daneside Theatre

23Oct

By Hannah KellyNo Comments

North West

Legally Blonde The Musical – Daneside Theatre

On a dark and dreary October evening, The Daneside Theatre in Congleton was glowing with hot-pink and the productions opening night appeared lively and high-spirited. Directed by Jill Mason, the Congleton Musical Theatre’s rendition of Heather Hach’s ‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’ is kitsch, cringe and wonderfully camp. The musical is based on both Amanda Brown’s novel and the 2001 hit-movie starring Reese Witherspoon, following the journey of the ‘Malibu-Barbie’, Elle Woods, as she navigates her way through Harvard Law School and eventually dispels all stereotypes of her ‘Legally Blonde’ persona. The curtain opens to Elle (Abbie Lloyd) and her ‘Delta Nu’ Sorority Sister’s performance of ‘Omigod you guys’, a flamboyant number that immediately characterised Elle and her love for War...

Murder on the Orient Express – Festival Theatre

23Oct

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Murder on the Orient Express – Festival Theatre

On the 22nd of October, Edinburgh Festival Theatre played host to an adaptation of one of Agatha Christie's most beloved mysteries: Murder on the Orient Express. This new production, directed by Lucy Bailey and starring Michael Maloney as Hercule Poirot, promises to be a thrilling and immersive experience for fans of classic crime drama and theatre alike. Set in the winter of 1934, the story unfolds on the luxurious Orient Express after it finds itself trapped by an avalanche in the snowy Balkans. With the train at a standstill and a murder on board, Poirot must solve the mystery before the train resumes its journey—and before the killer strikes again. The ensemble cast includes Bob Barrett, Mila Carter, Rebecca Charles, Debbie Chazen, Simon Cotton, and more. Based on Christie’s ow...

23Oct

By Louise PennNo Comments

London

Kidults the Musical – Bridewell Theatre

Are our schooldays really the best of our lives, or are they a kind of hell? And is ‘kidulthood’, that space between being a child and being an adult, all that easy to navigate? Mark Tunstall, who writes, directs, and stars as a kind of Fagin/circus master type of ‘Narrata’, started developing this project as a book of poems, a set of “cautionary tales for adults”. With the input of Lulu Chen and others, the poems became songs for this musical, which is now receiving its stage premiere at three venues across London. We are considering the age of thirteen, the start of the teenage years, in the group of children depicted. They are all played by adults, with Tunstall’s character as the only actual ‘grown-up’ on stage. Although there is a promise of a cohesive story, the songs really ar...

Dear Evan Hansen – Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

23Oct

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Dear Evan Hansen – Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham

If you were born in this new century and nestle within the demographic that favours “Glee” “Big Bang Theory” then “Dear Evan Hansen” seems designed just for you. For those of us outside that very slim group it remains an anomaly. The show itself has an undoubted pedigree having opened on Broadway in 2016 with music and lyrics by Benji Pasek and Justin Paul (whose credits include the glorious “The Greatest Showman” and the awful sounding “Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz”) with a book by Steven Levenson, produced by Marc Platt and starring Ben Platt - note the shared surname making lesser critics wonder if that nepo-element may go some way to explain the show’s weaknesses, but, hey, it won nine Tony Awards! The show has toured endlessly, had a long West End, a badly received film - and people love...