REVIEWS Archives - Page 305 of 548

Four Weddings and a Breakdown – King’s Arms, Salford

9Jul

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Four Weddings and a Breakdown – King’s Arms, Salford

Phil Green’s pre-Edinburgh stand up show, presented to a small audience who had made their way through the torrential rain of a humid summers evening, took us on a journey of his life over the past twenty years and the trials and torments that have brought him to where he is now. Relaxed, quick witted and very likeable, Green quickly got down to the business of pondering the life experiences and learnings of each generation from the Babyboomers who raised him to the current Generation Z cleverly highlighting the differences and similarities between them. Using the power of his beloved and adored Sugababes, who have accompanied him for the whole journey and assisted by observant and entertaining photographs, visual charts and graphs, Green highlights the features of each generation with ...

9Jul

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

Miss Brexit – Rose Theatre

Discussing controversial topics is one of the prerogatives of theatre. Immigration and European identity, or lack thereof, is as controversial as it gets in these post Brexit years. Enter Miss Brexit. In this devised new piece, under the direction of Alejandro Postigo and Amaia Mugica, we find an unnamed presenter, played by George Berry, and 5 contestants: Maria Alba, played by Alba Villaitodo, Maria Isabel, by Isabel Mulas, Maria Marie, by Maxence Marmy, Maria Shivone, by Shivone Dominguez Blascikova, and Maria Ricardo, by Ricardo Ferreira. As simple as the indicates, the audience is promptly informed about the show they are about to witness: Miss Brexit is a contest where one of the five contestants will be awarded the right to remain in the UK. The premise is straightforward, and...

Alice in Wonderland – Individuality Youth at Rainhill Village Hall

9Jul

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Alice in Wonderland – Individuality Youth at Rainhill Village Hall

Alice (Ellen Challinor) isn’t having much fun with her Nanny (Helena Hanlon) so when she spots a large, talking White Rabbit (Lexie Haslam), she decides to follow, with narrators Lewis (Elijah Houghton) and Carrol (Laia Mogan) recounting her journey and attempts to return home in this tale written and directed by Samantha Moores. Going through the tiniest of doors in her pursuit, Alice enters a magical world where she encounters Leopard (Marina Forshaw), Wolf (Erin Pye), Mock Turtle (Mandi Roberts), Beaver (Reeve Keyte), and Owl (Sienna Sheridan), before further on meeting Tweedle Dee (Milly Sutton) and Tweedle Dum (Louisa Nelson) following which there is Caterpillar (Ella Davies) hoping to transform like its butterfly friends (Laila Muir; Lucy Simpson). Things begin to liven up when...

8Jul

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Olive Jar – Grand Junction

Olive Jar is an important community project that brings to the forefront stories of reminiscence, connection and yearning from Iraq - Assyrian, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Algeria, Palestine, and Iraq. In typical hospitality of communities, the audience is welcomed with warm tea. The play is set in the Grand Junction inside St Mary Magdalene's church, a fine example of Grade 1 Gothic Revival architecture. As the last rays of the setting sun light the altar, the stage lights up with a wide array of lights. The stage is covered with vibrant colours of the Middle Eastern and South African flags. One is captivated from the first moment as the actors take the stage. This was the first time some of the actresses and actors ever performed on stage! The play is fascinating because by watching...

8Jul

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

Transparency – 53two, Manchester

Jaden Adams invites the world into a snippet of a transgender male’s life: expect an emotive solo performance packed with passion and playfulness. A prying parent forces Jack to come out about his transness sooner than he wished. In this multi-faceted account, he reveals the ups and downs that followed. Though aspects of the narrative may sound bygone, the northern working-class setting- where views on trans rights still lack progression in many households- should be taken into consideration. Adams is an endearing storyteller who tackles sensitive topics with deft. His zealous acting skills show great potential as he switches between roles, garnering plenty of laughs as Jack’s niggling nan. Everybody roots for Adams’ character from the start as he addresses hurdles from being ...

Altrincham Garrick Show Choir – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

8Jul

By Helen JonesNo Comments

North West

Altrincham Garrick Show Choir – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

The Altrincham Garrick Show Choir, attached to the amateur company, has not been together that long, and this is only their second full concert held at the building from where they rehearse and take their name. As such a certain amount of leeway is given as are all giving up their free time to rehearse and perform, and a lack of experience as a choir. The choir, under the musical direction of Dan McDwyer, have obviously been rehearsing hard and sing well, but there are issues with the format as a whole. Many of the songs were either relatively obscure from musicals such as Come From Away and Out of Our Heads, a pleasure to hear something different, to the overused Bring Him Home from Les Misérables and From Now On from The Greatest Showman. Good to hear some classics i...

8Jul

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Emma – The Pantaloons at Speke Hall

I’m a long-time fan of The Pantaloons and so it was a pleasure to see them back performing in the beautiful grounds OF Speke Hall with four new Loons making up the party. Emma was Jane Austen's fourth novel, first published in 1815, and tells the story of Emma Woodhouse (Rachel Cumming), a rich and spoiled young woman who takes it upon herself to become a matchmaker for the society of the town of Highbury, Surrey - while looking out for someone handsome, clever, and rich for herself - and in which the many parts of friends, relations, romantic interests, and anyone else vaguely relevant to the plot are mixed up and performed in true Pantaloons-style by James Alston, Molly Cheesley, and Richard Lessen. The question is, amid all the shenanigans and social mores, can she avoid the tornadoe...

Alice in Wonderland – Liverpool Playhouse

7Jul

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Alice in Wonderland – Liverpool Playhouse

Last night, at the Liverpool Playhouse Theatre, I was invited to watch Alice in Wonderland. A short synopsis of the story is that we (as audience members) were transported back to the old ages, specifically the 1990s (which at that point, I felt old knowing it was 30 years ago). Where stereos played cassettes. Alice (Paislie Reid) was fixing her stereo player, as it had stopped working. She wanted to hear the song her dad Simon would sing to her before he sadly wasn't around anymore. In came her brother Lewis (Zweyla Mitchell Dos Santos) with a birthday cake for Alice. Like most brothers, Lewis got on Alice's nerves. Alice wouldn't let Lewis interfere with the stereo in case she made things worse. After a few more tweaks to the stereo, she was transported to a wonderland within the cassett...

6Jul

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Beneatha’s Place – Young Vic

Artistic Director of the Young Vic, Kwame Kwei-Armah writes and directs a new piece, 'Beneatha's Place', following a young black American woman, Beneatha (Cherrelle Skeete), who marries her professor Joseph Asagai (Zackary Momoh) and moves to Nigeria with him to start their new life together. The first act follows their first day moving into a white neighborhood; visitors from Joseph's childhood bring warnings of growing political pressures that put him at risk. Beneatha, overwhelmed by this new life and unaware of the politics, must catch up on how to tackle racism differently here than how she would in America. The second act brings us further into the future, with Beneatha now a Dean of an Ivy League university, bringing her employees back to this home in Nigeria to discuss the new prop...

6Jul

By Scot CunninghamNo Comments

North West

Wasteman – King’s Arms, Salford

In a sequin-studded change in his career path, Joe Leather whimsically recounts how he traded hi-vis for high heels in this endearing one-hour play. Despite dabbling in drag in former times, regrettable events have led him to boxing up his dreams. However, a new opportunity tempts our refuse-collecting queen to rediscover their passion for performing. Leather embraces his ‘imaginary’ audience and entertains us with engrossing words, song and dance while jumping between a past and present narrative. His stage presence is cheeky and charming, and he capably juggles additional minor roles with expressive mannerisms and accents. While there are plenty of funnies laced throughout the script, a quantity over quality situation in terms of humour is sometimes apparent: where too many ...