REVIEWS Archives - Page 307 of 548

Strictly Ballroom the Musical – Leeds Grand Theatre

4Jul

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Strictly Ballroom the Musical – Leeds Grand Theatre

Craig Revell Harwood. He must have been the only serious candidate to direct this fab-u-lous musical version of the cult movie bringing a direct understanding of Aussie machismo and the bitchiness of competitive ballroom dancing as he also impeccably choreographed Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce’s book. The opening number, Strictly Ballroom, is full of flamboyant partnerships opening up the dark, backstabbing world of competition dancing, and you shudder to think how long it took to sew the sequins on Mark Walters’ suitably over the top costumes. This smart reworking of Strictly Ballroom - The Musical with new songs is the age-old tale of a rebel like young gun Scott Hastings determined to shake up the staid dance world, and by chance he teams up with ducking ugly duckling novice...

4Jul

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Choosh – Unity Theatre, Liverpool

People often say they’re scared of clowns. What they usually mean is they’re scared of a thick layer of white greasepaint covering a face with a red nose and overexaggerated red mouth sitting beneath a green wig. Julia Masli is not that type of clown and Choosh, part of Physical Fest 2023, is like nothing you’ve seen before, either in or out of a big top. Masli has worked with dramaturg, Annie Siddons, to create a surreal and unique homage to migration, hunger, desperation felt during a job search, and love at first sight, whether that is for another human or a hot dog. The set is simple: an orange suitcase sits on a floral platform, but of course the simplicity is not what it seems as the suitcase is crammed with Masli’s props and tricks. She bursts onto the stage with an inside out...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Stafford Gatehouse

4Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

West Midlands

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Stafford Gatehouse

A magical Midsummer’s Night in Stafford It is the small details that can make a theatre trip memorable. As I took my seat at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre on Sunday 2nd July before seeing the summer Shakespeare production of 2023 (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), I could hear the sound of bird song emanating through the auditorium. Coupled with a view of the Greek taverna set on full display, I was transported to another place before any of the actors appeared. Usually this classic play opens with the Athenians conversing; however director Sean Turner opted to have Puck (a male fairy) start the proceedings, which I thought worked well because Puck’s role is to act as a commentator on the other character’s foibles. It is not just the actors who are commented on here thoug...

3Jul

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

La Copla – King’s Head Theatre

What is Copla? How can we understand such a unique expression of Spanish identity? Welcome to La copla, where you will learn about passion and music in a very amusing way. In this very interesting cross over between theatre and documentary, full of music, video and songs, we see Alejandro Postigo, also author of the text, going through his connection with Copla songs and his Spanish heritage. Directed by Sergio Maggiolo, and with Jazmine Mitts as Assistant Director, the play is a fresh mix of acting, singing and projections of examples of the Copla music, as well as some other material which the performer connects through his unique perspective to the idea of Copla. The Video Design, by Ricardo Ferreira, is very detailed, and does not overwhelm the audience or steal the thunder from the...

Tigers In the Wisteria – Greater Manchester Fringe (GMF Digital events)

3Jul

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

Tigers In the Wisteria – Greater Manchester Fringe (GMF Digital events)

Tigers in The Wisteria is a 30-minute monologue in digital format that was inspired by Ottoline Morrells Stonemason ‘Tiger’. The digital monologue is available in virtual format and is a performance for Greater Manchester Fringe Digital Events. Written by award winning writer, Lita Doolan, it tells the story of a challenging romance and all its complexities. Doolan is undoubtedly a talent and has had a previous show at the Manchester Fringe with her digital show ‘After Shark’ which is nominated for an Off West End Award. The film is only 30 minutes and for the first few minutes ‘Tigers In the Wisteria initially feels chaotic and somewhat complex to the viewer. Set in 1922, it is a story about Lady Morrell who is searching frantically for the correct love letter to put in a memorial for ...

3Jul

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Smell the Roses – King’s Arms, Salford

Meet Molly. Young, motivated, engaging and real. She runs her own florist and from it helps her customers acknowledge key moments in their lives by saying it with flowers. Whether it is the joy of assembling a bridal bouquet or a jilted lovers desperate offering, she constructs floral arrangements that are full of meaning and symbolism… who knew geraniums represent folly and stupidity? Certainly not me when I filled my garden with them! When George finds his way into Molly’s little shop for a much needed Fuck You Bouquet a ‘romantic comedy’ begins. The problem is, I found it neither romantic nor comic. George finds ways to come in and out of Mollys shop for multiple reasons, none of which are especially convincing. He asks Molly to teach him about floristry and the meanings of flowers w...

An Evening With: Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram’s North-West Mixtape – Shakespeare North Playhouse

3Jul

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

An Evening With: Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram’s North-West Mixtape – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Kicking off a series of conversations at the Playhouse, two of the biggest politicians outside of the Westminster bubble – the Mayors of Liverpool and Manchester - are here to (no surprise given the title) talk about the musical influence of the North-West. It’s no surprise that the evening is a little more freewheeling, inevitably spilling into politics, as well as football, railways and 70s/80s fashion, bookended by two up and coming music acts – Merseyside’s Ni Maxine, a striking and soulful jazz singer, and Manchester’s charming and funny Test Card Girl with a dreamy electro-folk/pop sound. Both Mayors are in a relaxed and chatty mood, with a clear friendship between the pair visible throughout – regular, comical jabs over football rivalries and which is the better city remain jo...

The Pride of Pripyat: Tales from the Chernobyl Disaster – International Anthony Burgess Foundation

2Jul

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

The Pride of Pripyat: Tales from the Chernobyl Disaster – International Anthony Burgess Foundation

Some events are so burned into the general subconscious they can be immediately recollected with just one word. Chernobyl, for example. But how much do we really know about the life of the nearby town - Pripyat - beyond a vague image of an abandoned ferris wheel? American classical music ensemble the Perspective Collective set out to answer just that question in their operetta. Across a handful of vignettes, ‘The Pride of Pripyat’ explores the personal impact of the disaster on the lives of some of those living in the shadow of the doomed power plant. Beginning and ending with the perspective of the city’s chief architect, the show also explores the experience of a local school teacher with a husband at Chernobyl and a pair of nurses unsure how to approach a patient with radiation...

Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play – Royal Exchange Theatre

1Jul

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Untitled Fck Mss S**gon Play – Royal Exchange Theatre

The biennial Manchester International Festival (MIF) opens across our wonderful city this weekend and under its umbrella purports to 'cut across disciplines and blur the boundaries between art and popular culture'. As their offering, in conjunction with the Young Vic and Headlong productions, the Royal Exchange have chosen to give the world premier to Kimber Lee's 'Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play', a coruscating satirical drama about racial stereotyping and casual prejudice towards people from the Asian diaspora. It manages to find both sharp humour and pathos in such a serious subject but may struggle to engage with an audience beyond the esoteric confines of the MIF devotees. Lee takes 1906 as her jumping off point, the year that 'Madama Butterfly’ by Puccini received its US premiere, ...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Opera Holland Park

30Jun

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Opera Holland Park

Warm weather, love and magic are everywhere in the summer. And we can share a piece of that magic in this entertaining comedy, plus the beautiful music that will come with it. Figure, the historical performance ensemble, brings to life this classic written by Willian Shakespeare and with the music of Felix Mendelssohn. Directed by Sam Rayner, and Musical Direction of Frederick Waxman, this famous story is set on the stage in the Opera Holland Park. The play follows the story of the four lovers, played by Johan Munir as Demetrius, Eleanor Sutton as Helena, Emmanuel Olusanya as Lysander, and Hannah Rose Caton, and the ensemble of actors with Jay Mailer as Bottom, Gail Sixsmith as Quince, Jordan Laviniere as Flute, Susie Coutts as Snout, William Eden as Snug, and Joyce Henderson as Starvel...