REVIEWS Archives - Page 3 of 433

23Jan

By Johanna RobertsNo Comments

North West

Ensemble 10:10 – Tung Auditorium

The audience at the Tung Auditorium were treated to what can only be described as a remarkable concert with several notable firsts. This was Domingo Hindoyan’s debut conducting Ensemble 10:10. Ensemble 10:10, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022 and became resident at the Tung Auditorium in the same year, was established by members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to showcase new music and to offer support to new composers, particularly those from the North West. With this in mind, last night’s concert began with the world premiere of a piece by Sam Kane, winner of the Rushworth Composition Prize in 2023. The Rushworth Foundation set up the prize in 2015 to nurture new talent and to support the commissioning and performance of new music. Danu’s Rhapsody demonstrates K...

The Merchant of Venice – Royal Lyceum Theatre

23Jan

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

The Merchant of Venice – Royal Lyceum Theatre

The Theatre for a New Audience production of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice is, of course, not set in Venice. Instead, we are in an American city in the near future, though the play's fidelity to Shakespeare's script largely confines this setting to its physical set, designed by Riccardo Hernandez (a brutalist concrete set of steps before two rectangular doors and a circular window), the presence of costume designer Emily Rebholz' suits and mobile phones and, of course, the Jewish characters being portrayed by Black actors (the link between two different intolerances aided by the fact the play has racist as well as antisemitic portions). This limits what the play can do to what Shakespeare did with it and, unfortunately, Shakespeare by today's standards is an antisemite. I...

22Jan

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Rocky Horror Show – Edinburgh Playhouse

Midway through its UK tour, The Rock Horror Show is a franchise which retains its cult appeal and an ardent band of followers despite being over fifty years old. And there were no complaints here from the almost full audience, who cheered and bayed and provided the necessary responses at the appropriate times, and also plenty of unnecessary responses at inappropriate times! This time around, ex-Neighbours star, 56-year-old Jason Donovan takes on the alien, transvestite scientist lead role as the mercurial Frank-N-Furter. Donovan’s Frank is a languid, louche and limp-wigged affair, more aging aunt than sexy vamp. This is Dame Edna in stockings and suspenders, and for me at least, it doesn’t entirely pay off. Given the look and the speed of delivery, which is generally a slow, eye-rollin...

One Man Musical – Underbelly Boulevard Soho

22Jan

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

One Man Musical – Underbelly Boulevard Soho

A musical comedy written by the duo Flo and Joan performed by George Fouracres renowned for Hamlet, at the Globe, HBO’s The Francise as “the man” and Flo and Joan “The band “: Live at the Apollo. This satirical and comedic look at the ‘life story’ you could say of a gentleman who has made his name in musical theatre, an “icon of the theatre musical world” a man we all know or do we! The One Man Musical opens pandora’s box of glitz, and glamour with the highs the lows to the ridiculous. With each musical comes a story and yet his own aka Andrew Lloyd Webber’s is yet to be told. Intro please… Flo and Joan, then you meet George with dialogue of life as himself a fictional Andrew Lloyd Webber you could say. George is everything ...

22Jan

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Calamity Jane – Opera House

Aaahh, Calamity Jane; evoking warm childhood memories of sitting on a Sunday afternoon in front of the TV with my late Mum, watching Doris Day (in implausibly pristine buckskin) sparring with Howard Keel in the iconic 1953 film. I clearly was not alone in my wistful nostalgia this evening, with a packed press night audience forsaking hearth and home during a freezing January, to rapturously welcome this stage version as it sets off on a 29 city tour of the UK over the next six months. They were rewarded with a show which revels in its sentimentality but has enough heart and humour to send even the most cynical critic home humming its memorable songs. An example of screen inspiring stage rather than vice versa, ‘Calamity Jane’ didn’t arrive on stage until nearly a decade after the movie ...

20Jan

By Zain RussellNo Comments

London

Man in the Mirror – Churchill Theatre

Man in the Mirror is a thrilling tribute concert to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Starring CJ as the iconic artist, the show features a live band, talented backup dancers, and powerhouse singers that take you on a journey through MJ’s illustrious career. From the opening number to the final encore, the energy is electric, and you’ll find yourself wanting to "Rock with You" from start to finish. The concert included all of Michael Jackson’s greatest hits, including memorable tracks from his time with the Jackson 5. The audience was treated to everything that we know and love from “I Want You Back” to solo classics like “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Dirty Diana” and “Black and White” creating a setlist that felt like a true celebration of the King of Pop. Production-wise, this show is...

Copla: A Spanish Cabaret – The Other Palace

20Jan

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

London

Copla: A Spanish Cabaret – The Other Palace

The intimate setting for this one DIVA show was not to be underestimated. The prelude music set the mood but not the tone or what was to be unleased on the audience. What is Copla? A question people could not answer and until now. Alejandro introduced himself to the audience before walking onto the stage. He embarked on a journey of personal self-discovery, an education into Spanish politics under the regime of Franco, Catholicism and of course the music. This was a story about life in Spain as a gay man, his roots in the LGBTQ+ community with the influences, the censorship which impacted his life and that of others around him. Video projections peppered the performance with Spanish, and English Diva’s sharing their versions of the songs of the music of Copla intertwined wi...

20Jan

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

London

Totally Fine – The Hope Theatre

A therapist in mandated therapy, what could possibly go wrong? Susanna Wolff’s one-woman dark comedy, Totally Fine, exposes the stresses and strains that come with being a therapist. Her character, a therapist who remains nameless, insists she is ‘totally fine’ and this whole therapy session is pointless. Somehow, that seems unlikely. The script, written by Wolff, is tightly crafted and exceptionally clever. Even the seemingly inconsequential jokes having pay offs, combined with a slowly unravelling mystery, keep the audience engaged throughout, culminating in an earned and effective finale. Wolff manages to peel back the layers of our protagonist, deftly dancing between comedy and tragedy without ever losing momentum. Not a single line is wasted, no mean feat in a one-person show. W...

18Jan

By Ralph JeffreysNo Comments

London

A Good House – Royal Court

Following the struggle of new residents Sihle and Bonolo to adjust to their new neighborhood of Stillwater, A Good House is a brilliantly tense and funny examination of race and community politics. The sudden appearance of a makeshift shack is what drives the action of the play, as Stillwater’s white residents try to get Bonolo and Sihle to become the faces of the plan to evict the squatters. This is a truly masterful piece of writing. Amy Jephta’s script is intricate and layered, and where the most obvious tension is between Stillwater’s black and white residents, this never becomes reductive. For example, Jephta layers in class politics between Sihle and Bonolo - in Sihle’s words Bonolo has always been “bougie as fuck’. These and many other layers prevent an argument heavy script from...

18Jan

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Kyoto – Soho Place

Rarely can a play genuinely be labelled as an "important piece of theatre”, but Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson's Kyoto is firmly in that category. Fresh from its critically acclaimed run in Stratford-upon-Avon, Kyoto offers a tense and challenging insight into the process of what John Prescott called "diplomacy by exhaustion". And rarely has a play been so topical. With wildfires raging and floods destroying communities, while some politicians and commentators continue to deny the existence of man-made climate change, Kyoto is a much-needed history lesson, a demonstration of what is diplomatically possible as well as a grim warning for the future if governments fail to act. The nations of the world have got together to discuss climate change and attempt to agree to targets and...