REVIEWS Archives - Page 303 of 548

Things I’d Like To Get Off My Chest – Hope Mill Theatre

14Jul

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Things I’d Like To Get Off My Chest – Hope Mill Theatre

Turns out there are quite a few things that Eva Lily would like to get off her chest and having big boobs is just one of them. This highly entertaining one woman show currently playing at Hope Mill Theatre takes a very honest and open look at the long-term failings of female healthcare and the constant narrative, and subsequent judgement, that the mere existence of women’s bodies creates in our society. But firstly, the boobs. They are big. Really big. At a size 38K, (‘average’ UK woman is a 36DD) they are prohibitively big and the impact of them upon Eva’s life cannot be underestimated. The piece opens with a 13-year-old Eva in the dressing room at Rigby and Pellier, brassiere makers to the late Queen and the scene of the ritual humiliation of her first bra fitting. I don’t belie...

Peter Pan – St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden

14Jul

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

Peter Pan – St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden

The magic of fairy dust and imagination, the power of flying, and the enchantment of caring. Crocodiles and pirates, mermaids and the Lost Boys. What else could anyone possible want? Slapstick Picnic is presenting J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, a new version of the famous children's story, with a cast of three, in an outdoor stage version. Directed by Nel Crouch, designed by Ella Barraclough, and with movement direction by Jennifer Fletcher, the play is set in a simple stage, designed by Studio Polpo, with a few contraptions that will surprise the audience. However, the piece relies heavily on the acting prowess of the three performers: Charlotte Driessler, as Mr Darling, John, Tinker Bell, Smee, and Tootles; Lucy Green as Wendy, Nana, Hook, and Slightly; and William Ross-Fawcett as Mrs. Darl...

Les & Ali’s Big Balearic Adventure – The Kings Arms

14Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Les & Ali’s Big Balearic Adventure – The Kings Arms

How many of us haven’t had occasional fantasies of walking away from stressful jobs and responsibilities and escaping to a life of paradise? Tonight (part of the Manchester Fringe Festival) we meet newlywed couple Les and Ali – getting ready to jet off on their Ibiza honeymoon following a lavish wedding that Ali isn’t sure they should have gone through with. Not because she doesn’t adore Les, but because of the £30,000 bill she doesn’t know how they’ll pay off. As they settle into their island life, they contemplate making a permanent change of scene. Ali, the pragmatist falls in love with an apparent stray dog she names Jonathan whilst fretting about their responsibilities back home. Les, the impulsive dreamer, imagines the home they could create in a crumbling villa he spots for sa...

14Jul

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Candide – The Alexandra, Birmingham

Leonard Bernstein’s adaptation of Voltaire’s “Candide” has been through many revisions, reimagining and total overhauls since it first appeared back in 1956. Stephen Sondheim, Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker and British satirist, John Wells have all dabbled with the words and what emerges is less a committee-driven compromise, but a deft tapestry of differing styles and techniques blended together with Bernstein’s sublime compositions. From the first note of one of the most famous overtures in opera, the Welsh National Opera Orchestra- superbly conducted by Karen Kamensk - soars and whirls and twirls its way blissfully through this blistering score. It is a thrill to witness such a tight, controlled and vibrant orchestra playing at the top of its game. If that were not enough a company ...

13Jul

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

In Dreams – Leeds Playhouse

Everyone knows a Roy Orbison tune even if they can’t quite remember who wrote it, so some of the 20th century’s greatest pop songs were always going to be a natural fit for a jukebox musical. All too often jukebox musicals crudely throw in all the hits and forget to actually tell a story that hangs together, so enter Emmy winner David West Read who has crafted a coherent book full of the sort of big heart and gags he delivered writing for TV show Schitt’s Creek. It’s hard not to think of the similarly warm-hearted Waitress watching this show, and that’s a standard that all shows should aim for. It helps that Orbison’s beautifully constructed pop classics are vignettes full of loss, yearning and occasional hope that means they aren’t simply thrown in for no good reason, but on the who...

13Jul

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

The Wizard of Oz – London Palladium

Life is but a dream on the other side of the rainbow. One that we live vividly and share with others to be better understood. And a yellow brick road through which we hop joyfully, finding others to help along the way. The return of the all-time classic The Wizard of Oz, adapted from the book by L. Frank Baum, with the music of Harold Arlen and Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by E.Y. Harburg and Tim Rice, brings new images to the well-known story of this girl from Kansas and her slightly naughty little dog. This staging has Colin Richmond as the set designer, Shay Barclay as choreographer, George Dyer as musical director, and Nikolai Foster as the director. The story follows Dorothy, played by Georgina Onuorah, who lives in a farm with her uncle Henry, played by Geoffrey Aymer, and her a...

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical – Palace Theatre, Manchester

13Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical – Palace Theatre, Manchester

For the next three weeks, the venerable old Palace Theatre will play host to the UK tour of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory The Musical'. Whilst it will undoubtedly prove a box office success with families seeking distraction at the beginning of the long summer holidays, unfortunately its saccharine sweetness without any of the counteracting sourness left me feeling slightly queasy by the conclusion. I am not alone in adoring the work of Roald Dahl; his books have sold over 300 million copies worldwide and his work is widely accepted to be amongst the canon of children's literature, everything from 'James and the Giant Peach' to 'The BFG’ has been voraciously read by succeeding generations of schoolchildren over the last six decades. Part of his appeal is that he is deliciously dark;...

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet – Lowry, Salford

13Jul

By Adam WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet – Lowry, Salford

“These violent delights have violent ends.” - Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 6. The delights of this ballet are not just violent, but they are plentiful and multifarious. How much did I love this show? Let me count the ways. On display tonight was artistry of the highest order. It was superb, sublime and even, perhaps, a tad spiritual. Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy is the ultimate play about love and death. His star-crossed lovers pay a fatal price for their desire. Sir Matthew Bourne, the director and choreographer, has created an adaptation of this drama that is at turns both intriguing and compelling. He takes it in a different direction but keeps the basic narrative intact. He uses Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet score but pares it down so it isn’t so bombastic and overwh...

13Jul

By Akshay RahejaNo Comments

London

Cuckoo – Royal Court

Michael Wynne's play delves into the lives of a typical family, examining the profound impact of mobile phones on their relationships. Seventeen-year-old Megyn barricades herself inside her grandmother's bedroom following a heated family discussion, leaving her mother Carmel and sister Sarah deeply concerned. The play explores the isolation caused by these devices, their psychological allure, the troubles they pose for teenagers, and the detachment experienced in online encounters, devoid of genuine emotion. While Carmel's character is well-developed, her dismissal of her sister, mother, and daughter presents subjective and intriguing reactions, leaving the audience yearning for deeper exploration. Under the direction of Vicky Featherstone, the staging of Cuckoo remains straightforward ...

13Jul

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Anything Goes – Z–Arts, Manchester

Z-Arts Renaker Theatre hosted Manchester Musical Youth’s (MMY) latest summer production of ‘Anything Goes’. With a cast of over forty young performers, I was intrigued to see how Principle and Musical Director Kimberley Holden would pull this musical off with its huge repertoire of songs, monumental tap numbers, including the sensational choreography that we have come to expect from this classic Cole Porter’s masterpiece. The set is that of the ocean liner S. S. American, where nightclub singer Reno Sweeney (Hanna Cunningham) is on route from New York to England. Reno’s love interest and friend Billy Crocker (Oliver Horton) has stowed away to be his true love Hope Harcourt (Amelia Ruffley), the problem being that his true love is betrothed to be married to a wealthy English Lord – Evely...