REVIEWS Archives - Page 3 of 596

16Jul

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

Art – Theatr Clwyd

How much would you pay for a white painting? Disley Theatrical Productions bring Art to the Weston at Theatr Clwyd. Written by Yasmina Reza and translated by Christopher Hampton, we follow the friendship of three men, Marc, Serge and Yvan. Serge has spent a huge amount of money on a white painting, a five foot by four foot white painting with a few diagonal white lines. But this purchase causes a huge rift between Serge and Marc. Then Yvan comes along, not wanting to upset anyone and tries to play the happy medium but only upsetting himself more. Simon Phillips as Marc is commanding, honest and frank, not buying in to the fact that Serge actually loves this piece of art and feels something when he looks at it. Chris Jones brings a calmness to Serge which balances out Marc’s fiery...

16Jul

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

Nell Gwynn – Theatre by the Lake

Nell Gwynn is like many women of influence in history, whose name may be known but whose story is. With memories of Barbara Winsor as the orange fruit seller in a Carry On film, I knew very little about the woman. However, Theatre by the Lake bring to life King Charles II’s mistress with a lively, bawdy romp – and tells her story. A collaboration between Theatre by the Lake, Shakespeare North Playhouse and Storyhouse Theatre, this production is as lively and entertaining as anything that may have been performed in the original Globe Theatre. Music, dance and bold, playful banter make this production a joy. The opening scene did have me worried as Burhan Kathawala, began a performance which was so wooden, then the lights lifted, the stage opened up to reveal a play within a play. Kath...

16Jul

By Saloni SanwalkaNo Comments

London

The Oresteia – Bridge Theatre

The Oresteia begins with a 360-degree revolution of its stage—a two-story glass-walled house— and the slow reveal of its inhabitants. It is an arresting sight which instantly fixes the audience to their seats. Over the course of three and a half hours, writer and director Simon Stone brings Aeschylus’ eponymous trilogy to the modern day with a script that is intense and astonishingly funny. Coupled with an award-worthy ensemble performance, The Oresteia more than matches the scale of its ambition. The play centres on a wealthy British family— the Middeltons, standing in for the House of Atreus— and follows their violent unravelling across one decade. While the idea of adapting a story about double matricide to 21st century norms seems absurd, Stone succeeds in the endeavour with marvell...

Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Birmingham Rep

15Jul

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Birmingham Rep

With the recent death of Stephen Sondheim musical theatre has been robbed of its most eloquent and profound creator - of whom Mandy Patinkin said, “The man who wrote my prayers has died” - we are left with a long, long legacy of which everyone who has ever placed pen to paper and finger to key would be right to call the Master. His works, words and tunes swooping high over all his contemporaries and masterfully nail what a great artist aims for - trying to understand the human condition. Words and music achingly blending with profound insight evoking feelings and sensations we never knew we had or could identify until he helped us. Photo: Manuel Harlan It is right and proper, then the Birmingham Rep as part of Joe Murphy’s new programme offer us one of Sondheim’s most loved, most per...

Ali in Wonder(Eng)Land – Jacksons Lane Theatre

15Jul

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Ali in Wonder(Eng)Land – Jacksons Lane Theatre

This rather clumsily titled play is the “rabbit hole” to a rather fascinating 75 minutes of devised drama by the LegalAliens Theatre’s Tottenham Project which reimagines Lewis Carroll's famous Alice in Wonderland as the experience of an immigrant trying to negotiate the English immigration system and cultures. Directed by Lara Prlmiani the play was first created in 2023 and has now been updated for the current production at the Jacksons Lane Theatre. Each successive cast, all of whom are immigrants from a wide range of countries, bring their own perspectives of their challenges in settling in England to the text. The use of Lewis Carroll's famous story as a template was an inspired idea since nothing could be more English and yet it is very effectively and humorously used to illus...

The Ballad of Johnny & June – Hull New Theatre

15Jul

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Ballad of Johnny & June – Hull New Theatre

The applause started immediately after curtain up on Tuesday night when The Ballad of Johnny & June hit the Hull New Theatre stage. We were showing our appreciation for the fantastic music being played by on-stage musicians who were sometimes visible, yet mostly obscured, throughout the production - a production that would have been nothing without their amazing, tuneful contribution under Connagh Tonkinson’s direction. This new musical, from the book by Robert Cary and Des McAnuff (who also directed) being the story of country music legends Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, was obviously going to be brimful of harmonies, yet behind those famous tunes - Jackson, I Walk the Line, A Boy Named Sue and Ring of Fire to name just a few hits - lay a world of drug-taking, trage...

15Jul

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

The Choir of Man – The Alexandra

From its early days starting at the Edinburgh fringe festival, this show has grown from strength to strength with runs in the West End and now a national tour. Set in a traditional style pub that could be anywhere, Choir of Man is more about a vibe and opening your hearts and minds to the archetypal characters on stage. From the moment you walk into the auditorium, you will realise immediately this is not a traditional show. The stage is already full with cast and members of the audience having a chat and a pint. Cast are also roaming through the stalls chatting and making friends for later. You are part of the show, the characters speak directly to you and a few of the audience get involved on stage. You are introduced to each man in turn by his real name and the personality type he...

14Jul

By Olivia CoxNo Comments

London

Tender – Bush Theatre

Haunted houses aren’t just the decaying, cobwebbed old mansions we’ve seen in popular culture for decades. In a similar vein (and even colour scheme) to A24’s hugely successful 2026 horror movie Backrooms, Eleanor Tindall’s Tender explores the fear that can lurk in the walls of even the most seemingly ordinary spaces. Part psychological thriller, part queer love story – with sprinkling of body horror for good measure – Tender tracks the lives of young women Ivy (Nadi Kemp-Sayfi) and Ash (Francesca Amewudah-Rivers) as they become intertwined after a chance encounter on a night out. Ivy’s existence looks perfect from the outside, admitting to herself that “everything is in place” – the nice flat, the stable boyfriend, the pleasant job running an overpriced cafe. But from the offset we kno...

14Jul

By Charlotte MansfieldNo Comments

London

Heathers – The Arts at Marble Arch

Based on the cult film from 1989, Heathers the Musical has returned to London ahead of a wider UK tour. Dealing with teen mental health and the pressures of high school, the show is billed as the ‘darker, dirtier cousin’ of High School Musical. However, it's much more of a precursor to Mean Girls, with three popular girls, all called Heather, transforming Veronica (Gerardine Sacdalan) from likeable nerd into a member of their clique, until she realises the mistake she’s made. In Heathers, however, her revenge takes the form of murder staged to look like suicide, encouraged by her angst-ridden boyfriend, JD (Louis Hearsey). Awash with examples of toxic males and females, the musical attempts to inject some humour into its gritty subject by turning the characters into caricatures. Fathers...

14Jul

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Waitress – Winter Gardens Blackpool

Tonight’s review comes from Blackpool Winter Gardens and viewing the tour of Waitress starring Les Dennis as Old Joe and Carrie Hope Fletcher as Jenna. Jenna is a waitress in Joe’s cafe that sells 27 pies, all of which are of Jenna’s creation influenced by her mother. She is the cog in so many people’s lives that people go to for advice and a slice of the daily special. However, behind closed doors Jenna is trapped in an abusive relationship with her husband Earl (Mark Willshire) who takes her money and mentally manipulates her. Jenna often day dreams of a better life and makes up pie names in the process. As the show develops she becomes sick and after a pregnancy test it becomes positive. She’s unsure what to do about the baby especially as home life isn’t the perfect place to bring u...