REVIEWS Archives - Page 22 of 547

2Oct

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

The Book of Mormon – Liverpool Empire

What really shouldn’t work as a concept for a musical, really does. A musical based on the book that Mormons use, or even Mormons in general? And it was written by the duo who created South Park? Everything just shouldn’t work about this show, yet it has a huge following and is so funny, that you ache from laughing. Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s musical follows Elder Price – the top missionary in his class and his missionary partner, Elder Cunnigham, who is the bottom of the class. It follows them as they begin their missionary journey and not in the place that Elder Price was praying for. Nothing seems to go right for the duo and they try to covert a local village to become Mormons themselves. As with their partnership, it has varying levels of success. As someone who saw the origina...

2Oct

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

FIASCO – Vaulty Towers

FIASCO by Cryptids Improvisational Theatre is a longform improv show based on the tabletop roleplaying game of the same name. In the tabletop roleplaying game, players roll dice and consult tables to come up with a collection of storytelling prompts, linking characters together through “relationships”, “needs”, “locations”, and “objects”. This provides the framework upon which the players collaboratively tell a story, usually of normal people finding themselves drawn into increasingly violent situations the likes of which you might find in a Coen Brothers movie. Cryptids Improvisational Theatre have adapted and streamlined the general structure to suit a live improvised performance. The audience first votes – by cheering and general verbal consensus – on which of three general genre...

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – Hull New Theatre

2Oct

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – Hull New Theatre

When C S Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, he couldn’t have envisaged that the second in the series, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, would still be entertaining folk 75 years after it was first published. To celebrate the anniversary, this week Hull New Theatre plays host to the West End smash-hit production and, taking my seat on Tuesday night, I noticed theatregoers of all ages in attendance. Before curtain up we were entertained by a pianist, tinkling the ivories of an upright piano and dressed as a Second World War air raid warden, complete with steel helmet and overcoat. As the strains of We’ll Meet Again rang out, this first scene, on a darkened, misty stage, brought the Second World War years into focus. The story centres around the four Pevensie si...

1Oct

By Savitha VenugopalNo Comments

London

Foreign Girl – Bread & Roses Theatre

Ana is the foreign girl, a Belarusian living in the UK, attempting to get herself the Global Talent visa in the field of theatre. On realising that mere song and dance isn’t going to be enough, she calls her agent for help in deciding on what kind of professional theatre piece could make her eligible. They go through options – Marina Abramovic (too abstract), Chekhov (but he’s been cancelled), Shakespeare (Lady Macbeth with a Belarusian twist could work) – until they hit the right one. An autobiography. Written and performed by Anastasiya Ador and directed by Rachel D’Souza, this hour-long performance takes us through Ana’s life as she tries to set down roots in the West. Her attempts to assimilate are experiences that would resonate with many an immigrant, from mispronounced names ...

Sam Dodgshon Tries to Hold Your Attention for One Hour – Club Silly

1Oct

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Sam Dodgshon Tries to Hold Your Attention for One Hour – Club Silly

Being a standup comedian already requires a certain level of bravery. In his latest comedy special at Lambeth Fringe, Sam Dodgshon takes this vulnerability to new extremes by giving the audience control over what happens in the show. The concept is simple but smart. We’re presented with a PowerPoint that resembles a flowchart, with slides prompting the audience to choose between various options that influence the direction of the show. These options range from the straightforward (“Can I speak?”) to the absurd (should he go to hell via purgatory), and each pathway ends the same: we’re asked if we’d like to “play again”. With the assistance of an on-stage technician who operates the laptop and encourages the audience to shout out our answers, Dodgshon throws his all into the piece...

1Oct

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

One Man, Two Guvnors – Daneside Theatre

The Congleton Players’ first production of the 2025/26 season opened last night and it’s the hilarious One Man, Two Guvnors, directed by Louise Colohan, delivering a gloriously chaotic and endlessly entertaining evening at the theatre. Richard Bean’s modern adaptation of Carlo Goldini’s The Servant of Two Masters has been delighting audiences for years, but in the hands of the spirited Congleton Players company, it feels fresher and funnier than ever. Packed with more slapstick, silliness, and audience interaction, this is a show that thrives on its joyful energy and leaves you grinning from start to finish. At the heart of the production is Francis Henshall, played by Simeon Green, whose performance is nothing short of outstanding. Green delivers the perfect mix of cheekiness and ch...

13 Going on 30 The Musical – Opera House

1Oct

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

13 Going on 30 The Musical – Opera House

Once more Manchester’s Opera House hosted another World Premiere last night in the latest show where Manchester gets it first! 13 Going on 30 is adapted from the 2004 romantic comedy about Jenna Rink, a 13-year-old girl who wishes to skip her awkward teenage years and be “thirty, flirty, and thriving.” After making her wish, she wakes up as her 30-year-old self, a successful magazine editor. At first thrilled, Jenna soon realizes adult life isn’t as perfect as she imagined—especially when she’s drifted from her childhood best friend, Matt. From the first beat of music until the last, the energy on stage was infectious with the younger part of the company shining bright, and by tonight’s showing confirming the future of musical theatre performers is in the safest of hands. Amelia M...

30Sep

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

Girls on Fire– The Golden Goose Theatre

Girls on Fire tells the fascinating, terrifying, and inspiring true story of three extremely brave young women. Hannie Schaft, Freddie Oversteegen, and Truus Oversteegen were Dutch resistance fighters during WW2, who put their lives at risk as spies and assassins, killing Nazis and Nazi sympathisers. The cast of three each give solid performances. Emma Graveling plays Truus with a serious, fretful demeanour that occasionally gives way to touching warmth and humour. Ellie Grace’s Hannie is both playful and intelligent, with plenty of optimism and resolve. Lily Sitzia’s Freddie transforms from a naïve child to a cold, pragmatic killer. Each performance is distinct, and the interplay between the three actors is engaging. The script does a good job of selling the friendship between t...

30Sep

By Charles PipeNo Comments

London

choke me – Hen & Chickens

choke me – written and performed by Alexandra Montalbano – is a new one-woman reinterpretation of Punishment without Revenge by Lope de Vega. The plot follows Cas as she navigates the bizarre love triangle that she finds herself in. Trapped in a loveless marriage with her older, boring, cheating husband, she starts having an affair of her own with her husband’s son – her stepson. The plot jumps around, as Cas – in relaying the story to the audience – forgets things and has to go back and explain past events in order to bring the audience up to speed. As such, there are plenty of twists and turns to keep the audience engaged, although moment to moment it can sometimes be hard to work out where a scene is leading and what it’s purpose in the plot is. The play leans more towards comedy...

30Sep

By Brian MaddenNo Comments

North West

2:22 A Ghost Story – Regent Theatre

Danny Robins’ 2:22 A Ghost Story is a contemporary stage thriller built around one simple question: do ghosts exist? The story follows Jenny (Stacey Dooley), a new mother who becomes convinced that something unsettling happens in her home at exactly 2:22am. Her husband Sam (Kevin Clifton) is an outspoken sceptic, quick to dismiss her fears as irrational. Determined to prove her point, Jenny insists they stay awake with friends Lauren (Shvorne Marks) and Ben (Grant Kilburn) to see what occurs when the clock strikes. The staging sets the tone well: a stylish yet slightly oppressive kitchen-living area in a renovated London house, with French windows opening onto a garden glimpsed only when a motion-activated light clicks on. A digital clock is constantly visible, counting down the minu...