REVIEWS Archives - Page 241 of 548

11Jan

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

La Traviata – Manchester Opera House

Ellen Kent’s production of this much-loved opera is aided by its sumptuous set and costume design as it relishes its traditional 19th Century roots and delivers a truly musical feast to dine upon. At its heart lies a love story which draws upon Alexandre Dumas the Younger’s real-life doomed love affair with well-known courtesan, Marie Duplessis. We open with Violetta (Alyona Kistenyova), aided by her friend Flora (Natalia Matveeva) hosting a lavish party where she is introduced by Gastone (Nicolae Cebanu) to his friend, Alfredo Germont (Giorgio Meladze), a fervent admirer, who is more concerned for her failing health than her escort, Barone Douphal (Eugeniu Ganea). When Alfredo declares his love for her, she wonders if he could be the one amidst her desire to be free to live her life. ...

10Jan

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

The Unfriend – Wyndham’s Theatre

We've all done it - you're on holiday, you're relaxed, you meet a fellow tourist and strike up a vacation-friendship. You say, "We must keep in touch", even exchange contact details without ever really meaning anything other than "Goodbye" and never really wanting to see that person again. Maybe you exchange Christmas cards but nothing more. It's part of the British psyche to avoid appearing even a little impolite, so you will do everything to escape a hint of awkwardness or embarrassment. Thus, when Peter and Debbie meet ebullient far-right-wing American, the Trump-supporting Elsa Jean Krakowski, on a cruise and she invites them to visit her in Denver, they reluctantly give her their email address. A few weeks later she's manipulated them into letting her stay for a few days and she turns...

9Jan

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

Nabucco – Met Opera Live in HD

Verdi’s biblical story is brought to life in biblical proportions with this fifth revival from director J. Knighten Smit’s of the late Elijah Moshinsky’s original production complete with John Napier’s impressive set design taking full advantage of the stage’s turntable. In Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem, the terrified Hebrews await the arrival of the conquering Babylonian king, Nabucco (George Gagnidze), who is renowned for his cruelty. The Hebrew high priest Zaccaria (Dmitry Belosselskiy) has kidnapped Nabucco’s daughter, Fenena (Maria Barakova) entrusting her safe keeping to Ismaele (SeokJong Baek), and their love for each other is soon revealed. Nabucco’s elder daughter, Abigaille (Liudmyla Monastyrska), is also in love with Ismaele and offers to save the Jewish people if he will giv...

The Wind in the Willows – Shakespeare North Playhouse

7Jan

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

The Wind in the Willows – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Kenneth Grahame’s whimsical book of the friendship and adventures of a group of woodland animals has been adapted many, many times for stage and screen, but this latest take, adapted by Toby Hulse and directed by Julia Samuels, with musical direction from Sarah Llewellyn, still manages to breath fresh life into the classic tale. The meaning of the title has been long open to interpretation; tonight it is a sign of impending danger. Shakespeare North Playhouse’s Cockpit Theatre has been transformed into the round. Atop of a tree stump stage, we meet the chipper Ratty (Keziah Joseph having returned to the role following a rehearsal mishap), Mole (Katie Erich), Badger (Jenny Murphy) and Toad (Dean Boodaghians-Nolan) who take us on a wonderful, vivid tour of life on the riverbank. Boxes ...

Elliot Bibby – The Best of Bibby – Scottish Storytelling Centre

2Jan

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Elliot Bibby – The Best of Bibby – Scottish Storytelling Centre

Perhaps more than any other performer at Edinburgh’s Magicfest 2023, Elliot Bibby is unashamedly a comedian and entertainer first and a magician second. There is certainly no shortage of laugh-out-loud moments from this cheeky and charming magic man which make it quite different to all the others I’ve reviewed so far on the programme. Of course, comedy within magic is nothing new. Add a funny hat to the tall, dark Bibby and the Cooperesque comparison would be inescapable. No more so than when Bibby carries out the hilarious Bottle Glass, Glass bottle routine, which was one of Tommy’s absolute highlights. A lady behind me was in total hysterics during this sketch as bottle after bottle appeared on the ever diminishing table! Whilst comedy, can, of course, be a strength when combined ...

Richard Wiseman – The Worlds’s Greatest Card Trick – Scottish Storytelling Centre

2Jan

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Richard Wiseman – The Worlds’s Greatest Card Trick – Scottish Storytelling Centre

Prolific writer, Psychologist and magician Professor Richard Wiseman, who has attracted more than 800M views on YouTube and worked with the likes of David Copperfield, Penn & Teller and Darren Brown, comes across as a very unassuming and likeable chap who excels at interacting and entertaining the audience and also has some surprisingly good tricks up his sleeve. Combining erudite wit, a cardboard box full of self-made tricks and a deep knowledge of the subject matter is a compelling combination. The upper studio of The Scottish Storytelling Centre is an intimate space, with an audience of perhaps twenty, ranged in a semicircle around Wiseman. He happily gathers us into his tight spotlit table. Wiseman takes us on a brief tour of the life of some of the unseen and unknown inv...

Vincent Gambini, “Out Of Thin Air” – Wonder & Co. Edinburgh

2Jan

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Vincent Gambini, “Out Of Thin Air” – Wonder & Co. Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s only Magic shop, Wonder & Co, near Haymarket Station, hosts Vincent Gambini in a spell-binding show of close magic which will take your breath away, as part of Edinburgh Magicfest 2023, now in its 14th year. Gambini’s ability to weave a wonderful story around his magic set-pieces makes this as much a theatrical event as a simple magic show. Poetic, magical, lyrical and mystical, and short, this brief 30-minute monologue doesn’t put a single foot wrong. Gambini is as careful in his script and his delivery as he is in his manual dexterity – this is the full deck folks! Including the trick ‘disappearing aces’ and the ‘conundrum of black and red’ on a simple black cloth table, with the audience leaning in only a few feet away from the sleeveless Gambini, this is surel...

Street Magic Masterclass with Cameron Gibson – Wonder & Co. Edinburgh

2Jan

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Street Magic Masterclass with Cameron Gibson – Wonder & Co. Edinburgh

Edinburgh’s only Magic shop, Wonder & Co, near Haymarket Station, only opened its doors a few months ago, but the youthful ambition of owner/host, Cameron Gibson is clear to see. Looking like a mixture between Wonka and Potter, the charismatic Gibson seeks to induce magic and wonder to all, and certainly succeeds to some extent. The first wonder is the hidden magic room accessed via a small stair and a hinged bookcase; I feel like I’m in an episode of Mr Ben! Providing a deck of cards and a coin to the twelve seated guests, Gibson explains some simple card tricks and touches on the art of misdirection, in an almost scholastic setting. It is perhaps testimony to the success of the Edinburgh Magic Festival, now in its 14th year, and the health of the ‘Magic’ genre in general, that all...

Robin Hood and his Merry Men – Sheffield City Hall

28Dec

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Robin Hood and his Merry Men – Sheffield City Hall

Merry Mayhem hits the bullseye! The City Hall, Sheffield hosted the opening night of Manor Operatic Society’s Robin Hood and His Merry Men last night to a lively and packed family audience. Reputed to be the largest amateur pantomime in the country, Manor yet again did not disappoint. With a strong cast of over fifty, they filled the City Hall stage to the brim with laughter and pantomime traditions in their ‘bucket’ load! Unlike other pantomimes I have reviewed this year, this one really is immersive and not one expected ‘pantomime must have’ is missing. From the birthday shout outs, the messing baking scene, the children invited on stage, the ‘it’s behind you’ in the scary woods mayhem to the audience participation – retorts filled the auditorium and MOS gave the audience what they wa...

The Motive and The Cue – Noël Coward Theatre

23Dec

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

The Motive and The Cue – Noël Coward Theatre

The Motive and the Cue takes a moment in theatrical history that might only appeal to academics or utter luvvies and transforms it into a gripping meditation on fame, ego, art and the power of the stage. The play is a multi-dimensional window onto a 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet, directed by Sir John Gielgud and starring Richard Burton. The personal dynamics between the two actors were at best complex and often toxic. Burton was a global star of stage and screen, at the peak of his career when he asked Gielgud to direct him. Gielgud’s star was on the wane, rendered unfashionable by 1960s modernism and experimental performance. Jack Thorne’s writing is sharp, witty and peppered with metaphors. What makes this show so thrilling to watch is that a tight and clever script is in t...