REVIEWS Archives - Page 3 of 457

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Festival Theatre

10Apr

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Festival Theatre

Having previously been swept away by Matthew Bourne’s Romeo & Juliet and the haunting brilliance of Edward Scissorhands, I knew to expect something bold, something unexpected. But nothing quite prepares you for Swan Lake – The Next Generation. This isn’t just another reinterpretation of a classic – it’s the jewel in Bourne’s already glittering crown. Now in its 30th anniversary revival, Bourne’s audacious take on Swan Lake has lost none of its bite. If anything, this latest incarnation feels sharper, more intimate and emotionally resonant than ever. From the moment the curtain lifted at the Festival Theatre, there was an electricity in the air – the kind that only comes when something truly iconic is about to unfold. For those unfamiliar, Bourne's Swan Lake made waves in 1995 for...

10Apr

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Shirley Valentine – Leeds Playhouse

If King Lear remains the biggest challenge for actors of a certain vintage, then the 15000 word solo monologue that is Shirley Valentine represents a similar mountain to climb for an actress. Unlike playing the mad king this is one woman setting off on a two hour monologue, whilst also being asked to cook eggs and chips from scratch in front of a live audience. Playing frustrated housewife Shirley who finally breaks free of her shackles requires strong technique and iron nerve as there is nobody to pull you out of the mire if it goes wrong, and thankfully Mina Anwar has both. Willy Russell’s greatest creation is a lonely eighties and frustrated Liverpool housewife who is reduced to having a running conversation with her kitchen wall before she bins her dim sexist husband. She heads o...

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) – Floral Pavilion

10Apr

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) – Floral Pavilion

Think you know Pride and Prejudice? Think again. Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) is the story you know and love, told through the eyes of the people who know the characters the best, the servants. With the characters you know and love but told in a more up-to-date way with modern language for a more modern audience. It also includes some belters of tunes, including You’re So Vain, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Holding Out For a Hero and more! It was so much fun from a completely unexpected evening. If you’re going expecting an evening dedicated to Jane Austen’s most famous work, then you will be disappointed, but with an open mind, then evening will be one of the most fun you’ve had for a while. It is a small cast of five and there is not a weak link in any of the girls. Emma Ro...

All The Happy Things – Soho Theatre Upstairs

10Apr

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

All The Happy Things – Soho Theatre Upstairs

If your sister has died, are you still a sister? All The Happy Things explores the devastating effects of grief and loss. Overwhelmed by grief at the death of her older sister Emily, Sienna struggles with all aspects of her life without her. She imagines that Emily is still there with her, arguing, remembering their past, listening to music. Emily shadows her at work, at home and in her relationships. On top of this delusion, Sienna is dealing with her father's decline into dementia and the likelihood of him having to leave his care home because of his aggressive behaviour. Written by Naomi Denny (who also plays Sienna), All The Happy Things initially sounds like it will be a depressing piece, but it's told with great warmth and plenty of light-hearted moments, e...

10Apr

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Abigail’s Party – Royal Exchange

Most of the packed press night audience will have arrived in the Victorian splendour of the Royal Exchange thinking they had a firm idea of what to expect from their evening’s entertainment. This suburban satire is firmly fixed in the collective theatrical imagination, chiefly thanks to the 1977 televised ‘Play For Today’, which confirmed Mike Leigh as a theatrical auteur and launched the stellar acting career of (his then wife) Alison Steadman. However, with this new production, the Royal Exchange has succeeded in demonstrating the bitter and caustic underbelly of this ‘puckish satire on contemporary mores’ without losing the humour at its heart. Director Natalie Abrahami decides to transpose the action in place but not in time, so we are presented with our Richmond Road setting in sub...

9Apr

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

War Horse – Liverpool Empire

When a National Theatre production goes on tour, audiences expect a high calibre performance. That expectation increases two-fold when a production has such a celebratory history like War Horse has. Due to its longstanding repertoire, audiences know what to expect when they see this show; the puppets, the story, the wartime setting. However, one only feels the true essence of the performance when it is seen it live. Descriptions won’t do the creative work justice, but one word to describe this production: magic. Considering the tour after tour it has been through, this cast held that sense of first-time performance quality that this show needs to succeed. Like so many reviewers before me, I thought the puppetry was out of this world. Each performer, led expertly by Tom Sturgess as...

9Apr

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

Little Women – The Lowry

The novel 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott is still amongst one of the most popular novels today. Following the incredible success of the Greta Gerwig film in recent years, it’s safe to say that a stage version of Little Women would have a lot to live up to. Adapted by Anne-Marie Casey and directed by Loveday Ingram, taking on the March Sisters and their story was a brave undertaking. For those unfamiliar with the story, it centres around the March Sisters: Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy and takes place around the civil war. It tells the tale of their life with their mother at the helm as they are together at home and how at some point they all realise that nothing ever stays the same. With Jo March as the central character, the story moves on to highlight her own challenges about bein...

9Apr

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Legally Blonde – Hull New Theatre

Having never seen the 2001 movie Legally Blonde, I deliberately kept myself in the dark re its storyline. I know from past experience that the talented performers of the Hessle Theatre Company would expertly bring the Legally Blonde musical to life, when performing it at the Hull New Theatre. And that’s exactly what this amateur group did on Tuesday evening, the first of a five-night run. The story follows love-sick UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles - I Googled) student, Elle Woods and her quest to hang on to the love of her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III. Elle is a frothy blonde, who loves to dress in pink - shoes and bag included - and former law student Tanya Sewell plays her to perfection. Warner, meanwhile, has his eye on his future statesman role, and Elle’s appear...

9Apr

By Codie WrightNo Comments

North West

The Koala Who Could – The Lowry

"In a wonderful place, at the breaking of dawn, where the breezes were soft and the sunshine was warm, a place where the creatures ran wild and played free ... A Koala called Kevin clung to a tree." As a family, we are big fans of going to see our favourite bedtime books on stage (Mog the Forgetful Cat, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, The Tiger who Came to Tea), and Rachel Bright & Jim Field write the most wonderful modern books with positive messages and catchy rhymes, so we knew we were in for a treat. Our story follows Kevin, the clingy Koala and “King of the staying-still-Kings!”, as he sits in the safety of his eucalyptus tree and watches his friends enjoy playing in the outback. Kevin is played flawlessly by Christopher Finn, who also takes on several other characters, includin...

The Play’s The Thing – Wilton’s Music Hall

9Apr

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

The Play’s The Thing – Wilton’s Music Hall

Mark Lockyer’s The Play's The Thing is a completely exhilarating performance, and an incredibly impactful version of Shakespeare’s classic. A one-person Hamlet is a serious challenge to any actor and has become something of a byword for something you should probably give a miss. Do not miss this one. Mark Lockyer is a truly singular actor, and probably one of the few whose inventiveness, energy, and total command of the language allows for this incredible feat to come off so perfectly. Taking us through director Fiona Laird’s very cleverly abridged version of the play, Locker utilises deft characterisation to bring the cast of characters to us. There are subtle changes in voice, and neat, repeated gestures and mannerisms that make the complex task of following an actor switching ...