REVIEWS Archives - Page 24 of 547

26Sep

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Consumed – Sheffield Playhouse

The aptly named play Consumed, written by Karis Kelly won the Women’s Prize for Playwriting in 2022, is a dark, deliciously humorous yet disturbing drama, set around the kitchen table in Northern Ireland. It is Eileen’s 90th birthday party and her daughter Gilly, granddaughter Jenny and great granddaughter Muireann gather for the first time in three years to celebrate. However, the cracks; long since painfully covered; appear in this intentionally slow burning and powerful script. Expertly written, the intergenerational differences of Northern Irish women is laid bare - with all its historical ‘Troubles’, trauma and repressed family tension. With ‘food’, perception and more than one skeleton in the cupboard, this four performer play has first rate performances that are unnerving from the o...

25Sep

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

The Harder They Come – Stratford East

The Harder They Come, currently showing at Stratford East is an updated remix of the stage musical, last performed almost 20 years ago at the same venue. That pioneering production was an adaption of Perry Henzell’s 1972 cult film of the same name, co-written by Trevor Rhone. Henzell is regarded as the ‘Father of Jamaican film’. For his debut, the director cast the singer Jimmy Cliff in the lead role. This not only made Cliff a household name but arguably introduced Jamaican culture and reggae to a global audience. My first experience of the Harder They Come was at a late-night screening of the film at the notorious Scala cinema in King’s Cross. It was the late ‘80s and following Bob Marley’s death and the UK’s embrace of Ska via bands such as The Specials, Madness, and The Selecter, Ja...

25Sep

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

FEIS – Traverse Theatre

FEIS is a story of ambition, intergenerational discord and Irish dancing, with a side order of chaos. Deirdre (Louise Haggerty) is seriously over-invested in her daughter Aiofe’s (Leah Balmforth) dance career. Grandmother Maura (Julie Coombe) is delectably unhinged. Deirdre secretly makes ends meet by creating online Irish dance-themed adult entertainment. Family secrets come to light as Aiofe seeks to understand who she is. Anna McGrath’s mercurial script energetically captures the love and battles between three generations of women. Director Laila McGrath keeps the pace just right, giving the actresses space to really go for it with the larger-than-life characters. The belly laughs come from the heart of the story, as the characters raise the stakes to outdo each other. Haggerty an...

25Sep

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Black Hole Sign – Tron Theatre

Beginning its development in 2021 by Traverse Theatre’s in-house playwright Uma Nada-Rajah, Black Hole Sign hits the stage this week at the Tron Theatre. Over the course of a night in a collapsing (figuratively and literally) NHS ward, we gain insight into the series of events that led to the dismissal of Senior Charge Nurse Crea (Helen Logan) as she fails to meet her duty of care. Combining heavy emotional arcs with amusing and outlandish characters, Black Hole Sign captures the toil NHS staff and patients alike face due to overworking and underfunding. Inspired by Nada-Rajah’s own experience working as a nurse, this play hits hard - the events that take place are harrowing and all too realistic. The play unpacks a huge myriad of issues; we see the strain put on personal relat...

Little Shop of Horrors – The Forum Theatre

25Sep

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Little Shop of Horrors – The Forum Theatre

Adapted from the B-movie classic from over 50 years ago, this production has been brought to the stage by an extremely talent cast led by director and producer Gareth Cole, a long time NK stalwart who is undertaking his first full length theatre show, ably assisted by musical director Scott Mitchell, who also lead the excellent live band, and Jenny Arundale as choreographer. The back stage people contributed well to the overall production and their input should not be underestimated. Again another superb programme (presumably by Dominic Stannage again) with brilliant photographs by Kyle Hassall. The show is set in Mr Mushnik’s flower shop on Skid Row and explores the relationship between the staff of shy Seymour and quiet assuming Audrey. The fortunes of the shop take off when Seymour d...

25Sep

By Carole BaldockNo Comments

North West

Stayin’ Alive – Liverpool’s Royal Court

Haha, haha… welcome to a funny peculiar comedy, and it needs to be full of laughs as Maggie’ tragic tale unfolds. What does she have to live for after all? About a year since her beloved Nan died, she has no friends, her sister is a bitch - her mother an even bigger one. She ricochets between clearing out the house where her grandmother brought her up, karaoke evening at the Blue Anchor and a therapist with problems of his own. Clearly written from experience, I was astonished to find that writer Victoria Oxley was taking the lead role. But wouldn’t be at all astonished to find that co-performer Emma Bispham is her BFF, such is the chemistry between them. And co-performer doesn’t start to cover the latter’s range: mother, sister, therapist, plus memorable tribute acts, by no means in a ...

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – Alhambra, Bradford

24Sep

By Phoebe Olivia Sian HobsonNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – Alhambra, Bradford

Picture this, utter silence, a dimly lit stage, bulbs of warm light scattered in each corner, a piano centre stage with a pianist lightly tickling the keys as a slow and steady rumble crowds the stage, like thunder across the theatre the music rises from a magnificent orchestra. Perfectly tense, just as you imagine the train from your family home to the other side of the country to be, in a devastating world war. Michael Fentiman really outdid himself with this show, by not only incorporating song dance and acting the three things we watch a play for, but by also having characters and the ensemble play instruments, creating an irresistible atmosphere across Alhambra theatre, where the arm hairs amongst spectators stayed pricked for the whole two hours. Not only that but the careful prec...

24Sep

By Dave SmithNo Comments

London

The Weir – Harold Pinter Theatre

Outside, it's gusting, the wind has picked up and outside isn’t the most welcoming. Inside the pub, it’s warm and welcoming, a proper locals pub where you can serve yourself and just put your money in the till. Not much happens, a few locals drink and chat. That’s The Weir, that’s Conor McPherson’s play. It is a slow-burn, more about mood than plot, and it's the beauty of the writing and the skill of the cast which envelops us, brings us along to the bar as we sit and share the evening. In this case, to welcome newcomer Valerie, a blow-in to the small village. As the drinks flow, the men swap local history, leading into ghost stories which get darker and darker. Valerie reveals her own story, moving the mood from mostly light banter to raw confession. The evening becomes less about the ...

Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell – Sheffield Lyceum

24Sep

By Nathan DunnNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell – Sheffield Lyceum

Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell arrived in Sheffield with all the pomp of a bold dance show and all the sincerity of a gripping drama. This piece of theatre is aptly both - a dramatic, human tale of intimate connections won, lost, enjoyed and destroyed. This New Adventures production is an acerbic piece of liquid, visual storytelling. The narrative is compelling, pulling inspiration from author Patrick Hamilton’s (of ‘Rope’ and ‘Gaslight’ fame) 1929 novel ‘The Midnight Bell’. A patient meditation on love, lust and relationships set on the backdrop of the titular Midnight Bell late night drinking spot rooted somewhere betwixt the alleyways of early 20th century London. The work covers all corners of human desire in romantic and sexual relationships. We share the intimate moments...

Measure for Measure – Royal Shakespeare Company

24Sep

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Measure for Measure – Royal Shakespeare Company

Much like its persecuted and prosecuted heroine, this production of Measure for Measure has a lot to prove. Director Emily Burns draws some tight parallels between the scenarios of Shakespeare’s Vienna and the present-day political scene but keeps the play well within the lines of conventional adaptation. That this script lends itself so well to the current moment is more depressing than exciting, and this production does not shy away from, but rather leans into, this discomfort. Distressingly relevant and enduringly painful, this problem play doesn’t offer much in the way of solutions. Photo: Helen Murray Standout performances from Emily Benjamin as Mariana, Douggie McMeekin as Lucio, and Oli Higginson as Claudio only heighten the sense of unease that pervades the play space. Benjam...