REVIEWS Archives - Page 297 of 417

13May

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

The Full Monty – Gladstone Theatre

Feel good and full of laughs, The Full Monty provides a great night out for those who enjoy raw humour, a variety of on-stage approaches and acknowledgement of the audience. Based on the hit film and Broadway Musical, D&S Productions' The Full Monty brings its own stamp to the show, and all for a charitable cause. It is clear this company are having fun performing this! Content is designed for an adult or 14+ audience. There is swearing, sexual references, suicide references, racial references and nudity throughout the performance and some of the reactions of the audience are best heard by teens and above only. It’s also worth noting that the scripting, although parody in some aspects, may cause offence and must be considered within the time and context of the characters. Open...

12May

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Made in Dagenham – Sheffield City Hall

Based on the 2010 film and centring around the Ford factory strike of 1968, 'Made in Dagenham' is the story based on the real life events that led up to the Equality Pay Act of 1970. As the female machinists in the factory were downgraded to 'unskilled' workers, the fight escalated into a full on war against the government and Trade Unions to secure equal pay for all workers regardless of gender. 'It's not about money it's about equality!' This small group of women, like all ground breakers, found that the battle had to be won in their home lives as well as the factory floor. As the principal character encapsulates with her poignant line in response to her young daughter's career choice, 'I laughed at her when she wanted to be a Doctor and bought her a nurse’s outfit instead', but this was...

Anything Goes – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

12May

By Melissa JonesNo Comments

Scotland

Anything Goes – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

When theatre reopened in London 2021, it opened with a bang. The Barbican’s Anything Goes starring Sutton Foster and Robert Lindsay was not just a highlight of 2021, but rather a theatre highlight of the decade. With a new star cast, starring Bonnie Langford, the absolutely de-lovely production hits the spot. Tonight’s cruise liner was crammed with as much action as a Shakespearean romantic comedy, if not more. Mistaken identity, farce and wall to wall tap dancing abound in every scene. Starlet Reno Sweeney (Kerry Ellis) is heading to New York aboard SS American, where her love Billy Crocker (Samuel Edwards) has also stowed away but is in hot pursuit of the debutante, Hope Harcourt (Nicole-Lily Baisden), who is due to be married to her PG Wodehouse-esque fiancé, Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. As...

12May

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

As You Like It – Wilton’s Music Hall

As You Like It, thought to have been written in 1599, was historically never one of Shakespeare's most popular pieces, his tortured kings and princes apparently preferred by audiences and critics over his frolicksome pastorals. It has come to the fore in more recent years with multiple adaptations on stage, screen and even radio. Northern Broadsides' production focuses on the power of love coupled with the force of nature to change the world. So "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players". Duke Frederick has exiled his older brother, Duke Senior, to usurp his duchy. Duke Senior's daughter, Rosalind, was permitted to remain in court but is then likewise exiled for reasons which are never entirely clear. She leaves with her cousin, Celia, and they disguise thems...

Singin’ in the Rain – Manchester Opera House

11May

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Singin’ in the Rain – Manchester Opera House

We all know that Manchester has a reputation for enjoying a drop of rain and we've also been known to dance on tables and belt out a few songs on an evening out. So, it came as no surprise to see the venerable old Opera House packed to the rafters on a Tuesday night, with an audience eagerly anticipating this touring version of the 'golden age' classic musical. They were not to be disappointed with the high quality production values, a great ensemble, superb leads and a beautifully orchestrated score that left me walking up Quay Street hanging off lamp posts singing 'do de do do,do de do de do do do, I'm singin' in the rain, just.......'. The plot, charting the demise of silent pictures and the rise of the 'Golden Age' of 1920's Hollywood 'talkies', is well known, less so is the fact th...

The Meaning of Zong – Liverpool Playhouse

11May

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

The Meaning of Zong – Liverpool Playhouse

The Meaning of Zong, written and directed by Giles Terera, is an extraordinary reflection on slavery, its effect on society then and now, and today’s climate of performative allyship, protest and privilege, and their role in today’s racism. Incorporating music, dance and unique theatrical techniques, along with traditional stagecraft and storytelling, to create a mesmerising show which shines a light into a bleak and often sanitised history, and creates a spark of hope that, while we aren’t there yet, we are moving towards a better world. Before the play opens, some members of the cast greet audience members, with each of them looking excited and hopeful. This is followed by the onstage Musical Director, Sidiki Dembele performing a brilliant drum solo with audience participatory clappin...

11May

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Rock Of Ages – Edinburgh Playhouse

Rock of Ages is a cheesy jukebox musical that plays as the perfect throw back to everyone’s favourite 80s and 90s rock anthems such as “Here I Go Again”, “Dead or Alive” and “Don’t Stop Believing”. There are several stories told throughout by fantastic narrator Lonny (played by Joe Gash), the main one being of star crossed lovers Sherrie (Gabriella Williams) and Drew (Sam Turrell) who both moved to the Sunset Strip to find fame but instead found each other however the one and only Stacee Jaxx (Matt Terry) proves to become their biggest obstacle. There is another secondary plot concerning the demolition of the Sunset Strip. It goes without saying that this production is near perfect! The cast are all incredibly talented and perfectly cast, we all already love the music, an...

11May

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Passion – Hope Mill Theatre

‘Die, Fosca! Die’ was the call from the auditorium in response to the first production of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Passion’ in May 1994. Theatre trolling alive and well before the internet even existed. Who would have known? No such reaction from the audience gathered in a packed Hope Mill Theatre this evening I can assure you, but I will come back to that… Based on Tarchetti’s 1869 novel Fosca, Passion is one of the few projects that Stephen Sondheim himself conceived. When it first opened on Broadway in May 1994 it was admired by critics but not by audiences who were utterly repelled by the character of Fosca, the woman with whom Giorgio eventually falls in love. Unattractive, manipulative, obsessive, relentless in her pursuit of this younger man, audiences refused to believe that th...

11May

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Cher Show – Sheffield Lyceum

From Disney princess childhood dreams to fierce warrior princess on stage: that’s the journey of Cher as told in this new musical that originally premiered in 2018 prior to a Broadway run, which won two Tony Awards. Now with an updated book by Rick Elice, the production uses Cher’s extensive catalogue of music to chronicle the highs and lows of the more than sixty years that she has spent as an entertainer. Such is the diverse and prolific nature of Cher’s work, that it takes three women to play her. They are on stage almost constantly, sharing the narration of the story and each enjoying their time in the spotlight. Millie O’Connell as Babe takes the audience through the early years, embodying the nervous and shy younger Cher as she tries to fit in with her peers and find an anchor in ...

11May

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Cluedo – King’s Theatre, Edinburgh

An irresistible invitation from Lord Boddy brings the seemingly unconnected Colonel Mustard (played by Wesley Griffith), Miss Scarlett (Michelle Collins), Reverend Green (Tom Babbage), Professor Plum (Daniel Casey), Mrs Peacock (Judith Amsenga) and Mrs White (Etisyai Philip) to a country house one dark and stormy evening. Soon the connections, motives and corpses begin piling up as the mystery and hysteria grows. Who is doing the killing? Was it Miss Scarlett, with the revolver in the dining room, or Professor Plum, with the lead pipe in the library? Despite the familiar name, Cluedo is a new piece of work. That is to say, it's a new British play based on an older American play based on an 1985 American film (staring Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd), based on a 1949 British board ...