REVIEWS Archives - Page 24 of 428

5Oct

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Wonderboy – Wolverhampton Grand

With the astoundingly talented and acclaimed Sally Cookson at the helm and a script by Ross Willis, Wonderboy exploded out of the Bristol Old Vic back in 2022 and recently embarked on a national tour already nabbing the Writer’s Guild Award for Best Play 2023. It’s a hotly anticipated ticket with a huge reputation behind it. But many shows with a tidal wave of hype rarely live up to the noise - will this one? Captain Chatter is the comic book superhero who helps our own hero, reclusive Sonny, with his self-conscious stammer which constrains him from making small talk, sharing thoughts and ideas and most of all speaking to an audience. And then he finds himself cast in the school production of Hamlet! 90 minutes whizzes by and for all those minutes the teenage audience (the demographi...

Girls Don’t Play Guitars – Liverpool’s Royal Court

5Oct

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

Girls Don’t Play Guitars – Liverpool’s Royal Court

Reading the 2019 reviews of this show it was natural that I took my seat at its revival with high expectations. The story is undoubtably inspiring and it feels right at home in this theatre, however, as a stage show this lacked depth for me. With an 80:20 ratio of music to dialogue, albeit good music, it was difficult to feel much emotional pull towards these characters. As characters themselves, I imagine it was difficult to ascertain much difference between them for the actors as their personalities were as similar as their costumes in most parts of the script, noticeably different only by which love interest they had. Nothing can be said of the talent of the cast though. Their skills as musicians were undeniably central to the success of this show’s success; I just wish they were ...

5Oct

By Eleanor HallNo Comments

North West

The Lodger – Unity Theatre

From the creator of ADHD: The Musical comes a semi-hallucinogenic exploration of belonging. After an unsettling welcome paired with deadpan humour, the nameless lodger takes the dust sheets from the objects strewn around the stage and orchestrates the story. I was lost for the few minutes during the lodger’s own initial perspective, but the story soon developed into a compelling journey through place and possession. Dora Colquhoun plays 5 characters and gifts each one their own physicality. Most impressive was her representation of the unspeaking female deer, which was an impressive feat of physical storytelling. Furthermore, the play-world that is conveyed through The Lodger is theatrically inventive and unique. Through the recurring props and reappearing characters - all fighting to s...

5Oct

By Sadie PearsonNo Comments

London

One of the Boys – Playground Theatre

One of the Boys leads it’s audience through an Indusry-esque exploration of the corporate ‘boys club’ and the women it leaves behind, but with too little nuance or introspection to make for a truly engaging watch. The play, written by Tim Edge and directed by Lydia McKinley, was a feat of endurance for its cast. Giving 85 minutes of action with no interval, all four of the cast should be praised for the great amount of work they put in to bringing this performance to life. Energy never dropped and the quality of performance was, for the most part, high. Playing the cold-career-woman turned heart-of-gold lead Eve, Miriam Grace Edwards was a stand-out within the production, bringing nuance and sensitivity to a character which could have easily been reduced to stereotype. Edwards played...

5Oct

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

The Gentlemen’s Club – Soho Theatre

If you want to experience drag cabaret Bollywood style woven into a well-crafted narrative about freedom, community and possibility, The Gentlemen’s Club is the place to be! Co-presented by the National Centre of Performing Arts and Soho Theatre, London’s finest cabaret-meets-theatre venue, The Gentlemen’s Club is not only Patchwork Ensemble’s debut in the UK but also India’s first Drag King show. The Gentlemen’s Club opens with a nostalgic act by Rocky aka Shamsher (Puja Sarup) playing a tribute to the legendary Shammi Kapoor and the golden era of Hindi cinema- performed to absolute perfection. As a senior among an ensemble of drag artists (Sheena Khalid, Ratnabali Bhattacharjee, Srishti Dixit and Amey Mehta) performing at the club, Rocky is both warmly welcoming and a lightly pat...

5Oct

By Zandra OdetundeNo Comments

London

Run, Rebel – Theatre Peckham

Run, Rebel is a heart-thumping tale, a visceral plunge into the complex reality of being a second-generation immigrant in the UK. It is a story that resonates with an audience familiar with the delicate balance between two worlds, especially those who have felt the penetrating gaze of watchful aunties, clutching their Lidl bags with an unspoken authority, ready to report where you've been and who you’re with. Something all too familiar. The star of the show, Jessica Kaur, who played Amber, delivered a commanding performance that truly set her apart. She infused her lines with a palpable energy, an emotional depth that made her a powerful presence on stage. She was a star, a brilliant axis around which the entire story spun. The story itself was laced with heart and grit. It spoke...

3Oct

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Love The Sinner – The Studio, Edinburgh

Approaching the end of a one month tour of Scotland’s finest smaller theatres, this gem of the spoken word is certainly getting to the well-polished stage. Expertly, co-produced with Vanishing Point, writer and performer Imogen Stirling simply oozes confidence and assuredness as she births every beautifully crafted line. The shame is that they whizz by at such a rate they barely have time to flower into fully formed life. Like snow on the river, white for a moment, then gone forever. Through a series of flawed characters, representing the seven deadly sins, Stirling’s prose expertly coaxes and cajoles us through the drowned streets of the river city. It has rained for days. Our unlikely hero is Sloth, who reluctantly rises from her quilted fort of bedroom stagnation only when it gets to...

3Oct

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Ruckus – Traverse Theatre

Jenna Fincken’s revival of her one woman show, which premiered during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022, is timely. Violence against women was recently declared a ‘national emergency’. Two million women a year are estimated to be victims of violence by men. Nearly 1.4 million women are victims of domestic violence. Fincken has written and performs this intriguing, thought-provoking drama. We in the audience are her confidants, and she promises to tell us ‘everything’. She starts with 824 days ‘to go’ and this is emphasised by the projection of a countdown clock. Lou is a primary school teacher in her late 20s. She meets Ryan at an engagement party for her friend, Jess. Ryan is a manager at a homeless charity. He seems a really great guy, charming and considerate. When Lou gets dr...

3Oct

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

My Period the C*ckblock – Brixton House

Today is going to be a fantastic day, according to Bolade (Ruth Oyediran). Why? She’s discovered a pill that can delay her period, which means she’s pain-free to hit the biggest day party of the year — featuring her dream man Tion Wayne — with her best friend Jessica (Lara Grace Ilori). This is where we meet the two pals at the beginning of My Period the C*ckblock, written by Oyediran and directed by TD Moyo in this production at Brixton House. What transpires over the next hour is a remarkably well-written exploration of Black British sisterhood, female pain, and the taboos around menstruation. Oyediran’s vibrant and incisive dialogue depicts a charming and authentic portrayal of friendship — and all the entanglements it can bring. Bola and Jess are shown to have grown apart in the ...

Blue Man Group: Bluevolution World Tour – The Lowry

3Oct

By Nicky LambertNo Comments

North West

Blue Man Group: Bluevolution World Tour – The Lowry

Blue Man Group are a long established (since 1987) group of performers with their own unique brand of entertainment, the main feature of which is their phenomenal drumming. They always appear as a trio and are completely silent, in that they do not speak a word throughout the whole performance. Their current world tour, “Bluevolution” features a female drummer who provides them with excellent support but also gets her moment in the spotlight. I have seen Blue Man Group on the television and I wasn’t really sure how they could make their act stretch to a full ninety minute show (there is no interval) but they have crafted a wonderful evening’s entertainment, full of fun and joy and I was so sorry when it came to an end. The Blue Men mingled with the audience before the ...