REVIEWS Archives - Page 196 of 549

Diva! Live from Hell! – King’s Head Theatre

8Jun

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Diva! Live from Hell! – King’s Head Theatre

Diva: Live from Hell! is a one-man musical performed by the sensational Luke Bayer. If you're anything like me, you might be sceptical about how one person can pull off a musical solo. Well, brace yourself to be engulfed by the flames of hell as you dive into a story that's unbelievably hot and laugh-out-loud funny. Bayer is an absolute menace on stage, seamlessly shifting between characters and embracing the role of an extravagant diva with exceptional ease, all while belting out great and catchy songs. This show is incredibly camp and nothing short of enjoyable from start to finish. The story starts off with a high school musical vibe, complete with catchy songs and energetic dances. It touches on themes of self-discovery and sexuality before spiralling down a devilish path, where the...

7Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Give Us A Sign – Bilton Theatre

Talk about life imitating art! On Thursday evening, as my sister and I tried to follow directions to Bilton Theatre (in between house numbers 17 and 19, Main Road), to watch its amateur dramatic production of Give Us A Sign, I mentally prayed for a sign. Lo and behold, a gentleman appeared carrying a huge sign with the theatre’s details on. Phew! Surely a good omen? Turns out it was. Members of Bilton Amateur Dramatic Society (BADS) tread the boards in the village of Bilton, a short distance, east, from the city of Hull. Taking our seats in this cosy little venue, reached via a narrow lane off the Main Road, we perused the printed programme thoughtfully left on our chairs and waited for curtain up. At 7.30pm sharp the heavy stage curtains parted to reveal a suburban sitting ...

7Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Last Pearl – Traverse Theatre

This is the last stop on the ’24 tour for The Last Pearl, via Sligo, Dublin and Glasgow. It is a unique show which almost defies review in the theatrical sense, with no words at all but still plenty to relish. The Blue Raincoat Theatre Co.’s voyage started in 2016, hailing from Sligo, Ireland, clearly with an eye to the horizon, devising, amongst others, new works on explorers Shackleton and Darwin. This is a dreamy production which feels at times more like a yoga session for the senses than a theatrical experience. Some exquisite visual memories await the viewer, enhanced by appropriate sound affects; the quiet sea, the sandpiper, the whisper of wind or, in the turn of a moment, the howling gale and the lashing waves. Here, in the opening scene a long strip of fine silk cloth is tra...

7Jun

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Dumb Waiter – Hope Street Theatre

Moxie on Fire are certainly that with their production of Harold Pinter’s classic one-act play, considered to be one of his best, and certainly one open to much interpretation depending on who you talk to, with director Kaitlin Howard successfully navigating the potential pitfalls whilst still leaving us with plenty to reflect on at its conclusion. Gus (Gareth Llewelyn) and Ben (Richard Cottier) are hit men who are holed-up in a dingy basement kitchen, waiting to be sent out on their next job. Even from before the start of the play it is clear that Ben is the more senior of the two as they lie on their respective beds – Ben reading the newspaper, Gus seemingly asleep. The unravelling scene captures the uneasy frustration between them as they wait for instruction on their next victim ...

6Jun

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

The 39 Steps – The Alexandra

“What are the 39 Steps?” is the key line on which the entire narrative pivots in Hitchcock’s 1935 adaptation (featuring the engaging Robert Donat) of John Buchan’s 1915 tale of daring-do, high-jinks and military secrets. Mr Memory, of whom the question is asked, happily reveals his answer before meeting a very unhappy end. (Ooops, plot spoiler. Though I think that only happens in that version.) It’s a story riddled with twists, turns and near misses making it ideal fodder for cinema where it’s evolved into no less than four incarnations plus innumerable TV versions and uncountable radio dramatisations. Clearly a hot title which has kept us intrigued for 90 years. I first saw Patrick Barlow’s version (which evasively credits Simon Corble & Nobby Dimon as “From an original concept by” - ...

5Jun

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Kite Runner – Sheffield Lyceum

Based on the bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini and adapted for the stage by Matthew Spangler, The Kite Runner is an epic tale of childhood friends Amir and Hassan, set in the backdrop of Afghanistan in the 1970’s. Their tumultuous story is seemingly mirrored by the horrific realities of a country on the cusp of war. The Kite Runner does not shy away from mature themes of the atrocities of brutality, rape, war and political upheaval and handles them with an exemplary display of compassionate sensitivity. Directed by Giles Croft with Design by Barney George and Composition and Musical Direction by Jonathon Girling this production is all encompassing and draws the audience into a time of affronting through Amir’s own story. If you have read the 2003 book, then I would say this production; ...

Northern Ballet: Beauty & The Beast – Leeds Grand Theatre

5Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Northern Ballet: Beauty & The Beast – Leeds Grand Theatre

There have been countless versions of Beauty & The Beast over the years in film and the theatre, but David Nixon’s version for Northern Ballet is a million miles away from the saccharine Disney version delving deep into the darker elements of this love story that has its origins in Ancient Greece. Northern Ballet’s former artistic director looks to Cocteau’s classic 1946 movie for his inspiration, which offers the dancers a much more challenging understanding of how if we fail to look beyond exteriors we will miss things like love, compassion and the inner demons that make us all human. Although this is a far more subtle reading of this fable it retains all the key elements as a vain prince who is cursed by his narcissism to become a beast until he can find true love when someone...

5Jun

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Come From Away – Hull New Theatre

A complimentary badge was handed to me, along with a press pack, as I entered the Hull New Theatre on Tuesday evening, to watch the musical Come From Away. The badge depicted the Earth surrounded by the words “Wherever We Are”, words relating to one of the 14 songs in this uplifting musical. The story centres around the Newfoundland town of Gander whose inhabitants found themselves playing hosts to almost 7,000 passengers, as American and Canadian planes were grounded on September 11, 2001 after two planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York. Although the tragedy was the catalyst for Gander’s upheaval, this lively musical doesn’t dwell on the bad stuff. The all-singing, all-dancing cast, accompanied by talented musicians, portray townsfolk who refuse to be downhearted by thei...

A View From The Bridge – Theatre Royal Haymarket

5Jun

By Eleanor HallNo Comments

London

A View From The Bridge – Theatre Royal Haymarket

Arthur Miller’s encapsulating tragedy of the 1950s stands the test of time. This production remains faithful to Miller’s story centred on an American-Italian family, which brews themes of blood, honour, love and instinct, to ultimately boil beneath the skin of the law and authorities. Eddie, our protagonist, beholds a tangled idea of himself as his niece Kathryn’s father-lover. Throughout the course of the action, he pursues what he believes to be just for his niece. It is in this warped sense of justice that Eddie’s anger and self-martyrisation become wrapped up in his ideals of nationalism, patriarchy, and a fostered fatherhood. The set was comprised of contemporary facades of buildings, perhaps emphasising the protective walls between the immigrant family members and authority, and e...

Di, Viv and Rose – Altrincham Garrick Studio

5Jun

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Di, Viv and Rose – Altrincham Garrick Studio

Opening tonight at Altrincham’s Garrick Studio, the final play of their all-female season, Amelia Bullmore’s Di Viv and Rose explores the theme of female friendship; those relationships found in the formative years of a woman’s life when she meets those women who become her sisters in life, the family that she choses and with whom she grows and develops. Di, Viv and Rose meet in their first term at university, thrown together in a hall of residence and then bonding into housemates as they experience their first taste of independence, follow dreams, have crushes, share secrets and desires and study for their degrees. It follows them through many highs and lows and into womanhood, motherhood, careers and explores their loves and their losses. Eleanor Herdson (Di), Georgina Brame ...