REVIEWS Archives - Page 263 of 548

And…And…And – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

8Oct

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

And…And…And – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Isla Cowan’s beautifully written new play is a gem. It focusses on the relationship between two young women in their last year at school whose lives are overshadowed by the climate emergency. The play opens on a beach where the two seventeen year olds are collecting litter (including a lot of plastic items). Their characters are brought to life by Caroline McKeown (Cassie) and Tiana Milne-Wilson (Claire). Those two very talented actors are totally convincing as the best friends. They have a very relaxed natural rapport but as the play develops and they seem to be growing apart, their emotionally charged scenes are perfecting pitched, and engrossing. Two wonderful performances. Cassie and Claire are both concerned by the climate crisis, but it is Cassie who is the activist. She wants ...

Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

7Oct

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense – Octagon Theatre, Bolton

For many years a book that sat close to my bedside was a Jeeves Omnibus by the masterful Pelham Grenville ‘Plum’ Wodehouse. I’ve always treasured the world of Bertie Wooster and his unflappable valet; a quintessentially English place, chock full of indomitable Aunts and hopeless nephews always getting into scrapes, tales that are always happily resolved in time for tea and crumpets. In 2013, brothers David and Robert Goodale took one of Wodehouse’s early stories ‘The Code of the Woosters’ (1938) and adapted it into this Olivier winning comedy for a West End audience, a show which the team at Wiltshire Creative have now co-produced with the Octagon in Bolton to excellent effect. Anyone with a passing knowledge of the ‘Wodehousian’ milieu, will know that a large part of the beauty is d...

6Oct

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

The Wizard of Oz – Z arts

The Manchester Musical Youth (MMY) production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ graces the Renaker Theatre, Z-Arts for 2 days only. This glorious rendition of L.Frank Baum with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y.Harburg is an adaptation of the 1900 children’s fantasy novel ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ which became the classic 1939’s film we all love and adore starring Judy Garland. MMY Apprentices Director Shannon Holland has done a sterling job on creating a magnificent production with the students, it is hard to believe that these talented youngsters on stage are aged 8 to 13 as they shown a maturity beyond their years. MMY has always prided themselves on igniting passion, nurturing talent and showcasing success and this is a prime example of their ethos as each, and every young person s...

6Oct

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Kinky Boots – The Brindley Theatre

D&S Productions presented Kinky Boots at The Brindley Theatre in Runcorn. D&S Productions are an award-winning community theatre group based in Ellesmere Port/Chester who regularly perform at The Brindley Theatre. D&S is a company that took to the stage in 2021 and belong to the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA). D&S are passionate about creating quality theatre, they pride themselves on valuing people, they’re deliberately inclusive and are committed to raising money for good causes and charities close to their heart. Director Donna Dale is no novice when it comes to theatre being both on stage as a performer and as a fabulous director - she has been involved in performances since the age of 3. Kinky Boots is no easy task to produce as it requires both p...

6Oct

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Noises Off – Theatre Royal Haymarket

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary production of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off garners peals of laughter for nearly 2.5 hours straight! An exceptional piece of comedy, performed by a stellar cast with supreme comic timing, directed by Lindsay Posner with profound detail, this rendition successfully churns out maximum hilarity from Frayn’s brilliant writing. The play opens with Dotty (Felicity Kendal) who plays Mrs. Clackett, a housemaid for Nothing On. We are in a bright house owned by Mr and Mrs Brent (Jonathan Coy and Tamzin Outhwaite) who are seemingly holidaying in Spain. Director Llyod's (Alexander Hanson) rising frustration is probably at its lowest at this dress run at midnight as Dotty keeps messing up the “sardines”. Garry (Mathew Horne) and Brooke (Sasha F...

Hedda Gabler – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre

6Oct

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Hedda Gabler – Brockley Jack Studio Theatre

The Fish Don't Matter theatre company have produced a pacy but flawed production of Ibsen's classic. Hedda Gabler is one of theatre's great characters often likened to a female Hamlet. A young bride returning from her overlong honeymoon already bored with her academic husband who is more interested in his research then her, is trapped in a relationship and house that she does not like. She takes out her misery on those around her and tries to rekindle relationships with previous admirers but fails to find satisfaction leading to an ultimately tragic end. The Brockley Jack playing area is not large, and the director Scott James had made it even smaller by creating an acting area demarcated by a wooden boundary containing small bunches of flowers. The result was that the cast were f...

L’elisir d’amore – Royal Opera House Live Transmission

6Oct

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

L’elisir d’amore – Royal Opera House Live Transmission

L’elisir d’amore is a bel canto comic opera in two acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti with libretto by Felice Romani. Written in 1832, today it is one of the most frequently performed of all Donizetti’s operas. Naïve country boy Nemorino (Liparit Avetisyan) is determined to win the heart of the coquettish Adina (Nadine Sierra) but this assured young woman doesn’t even bother to give him the time of day. When the parochial life of the village is thrown into disarray by the arrival of the dashing Sergeant Belcore (Boris Pinkhasovich) at the head of his troops, the lovesick peasant boy is forced to turn to other means in his Tristan-like pursuit of his Isolde, and the arrival of wheeler-dealer Doctor Dulcamara (Ambrogio Maestri) promises much with his so-called ‘elixir of love’. As...

Group Portrait In A Summer Landscape – Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

6Oct

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Group Portrait In A Summer Landscape – Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

It is a brave playwright who describes his play as “Scottish Chekhov”, but Peter Arnott’s magnificent new play does not disappoint. It’s an exhilarating tour-de-force which deals with huge issues while zooming in on the complex human relationships of a group of privileged and talented people. It’s hugely entertaining, thought-provoking, and witty, but not always an easy watch. The first night audience was often shrieking with laughter, but sometimes stunned into shocked silence. It’s set in the summer of 2014 in the heady days leading up to the Scottish Independence Referendum. But although that’s discussed, it’s not a play about Independence. Nor is it about the climate emergency, although that issue features, too. And it’s not really about God though the Deity is important to some ...

6Oct

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Shooting Hedda Gabler – Rose Theatre

Jeff James returns to the Rose with another fantastic re-telling of a classic- ‘Shooting Hedda Gabler’ which explores the classic story in a very twisted and modern setting, written and adapted by Nina Segal. Antonia Thomas as Hedda is flown to Oslo to film ‘Hedda Gabler’ and there she meets Henrik (Christian Rubeck) the director with high ambitions and unwavering dedication to getting what he wants out of his actors. Also, on set we meet Berta (Anna Andresen) the AD and possibly the closest character to normality for Hedda as she is pulled into a collapse of self-belief, loss of identity and shame. Henrik believes the separation between actor and character should not exist and therefore creates situations to morph Hedda’s world together: so he hires her Ex to film with her, Ejlert (Avi Na...

5Oct

By Bev ClarkNo Comments

North West

Lost in The Beat – Hope Street Theatre

New musical play hits all the right notes with emotional songs and thought -provoking drama. With so many shows being based around well-known hits these days, it’s refreshing to see a new musical play with original well-penned songs. Beat Productions present this multilayered show written by Andrea Orton and composed by Di Healey and Richard Badger. Lost in the Beat examines many issues, but mainly that of early onset dementia against a backdrop of well- constructed melodies and lyrics, performed by a fifteen-strong choir supporting the cast. What a super choir they are! This real community choir threw themselves into this project. A harmonious wall of sound with lovely smiling faces! Behind them, four excellent musicians. Orton’s story is about a 45-year-old woman, a community ch...