REVIEWS Archives - Page 318 of 548

30May

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Titanic The Musical – Hull New Theatre

Within minutes of the cast of Titanic the Musical gathering on the Hull New Theatre stage, on Monday night, I was sucked into the story and found myself wondering who would live and who would die. There can’t be a soul on Earth who hasn’t heard of the 1912 tragedy involving the RMS Titanic, billed as the “unsinkable, largest moving object in the world”; so, me questioning who survives and who pops their clogs in the icy cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, is no spoiler. At “curtain up” the quayside of Southampton bustled with tradesmen carrying their wares on to the ship, which was on its maiden voyage, heading for New York. Two such individuals ran off the stage and past us in the audience, carrying crates of oranges and cauliflowers. What a clever move - it felt as if we were act...

30May

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Rose – Ambassadors Theatre

"The bullet hit her in the forehead. It caught her in the middle of a thought." An 80-year-old Jewish woman sits shiva on a wooden bench and talks about her life. That, in a nutshell, is Martin Sherman's play, Rose. But that is so far from doing it justice. It is very much more in its depth and breadth. As Rose reminisces about her life, her journey to that point in time, to that bench, she wonders whether she actually believes in God, whether her recollections are correct, whether she's remembering a movie. It's clear though that these were her true experiences. From a childhood in a shtetl in Ukraine (at that time part of Russia), to joining her brother in Poland to escape the Cossacks and the pogroms, falling in love, then suffering the trauma and horror of the Warsaw Ghetto, the Naz...

Carrie Hope Fletcher: An Open Book – The Lowry

30May

By Helen JonesNo Comments

North West

Carrie Hope Fletcher: An Open Book – The Lowry

Carrie Hope Fletcher started her career in musical theatre at the grand old age of nine, playing the young Eponine in Les Misérables. Since then she has played a large number of roles in various musicals including the adult Eponine and Fantine and the first UK Veronica in Heathers The Musical. Here in An Open Book she takes a retrospective look at her career and her life through anecdote and song. Taking the order of story and song seemingly from an online source, for each anecdote she ‘reads’ from a different book. Stories of her childhood, adulthood and from various shows are followed by a relevant track. After her opening song Another Chapter, she goes into There Are Worse Things I Could Do from Grease. Her songs range from Les Misérables, He...

The Woman Who Crossed the Road – Toxteth Library

27May

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Woman Who Crossed the Road – Toxteth Library

Performed as part of WoWFEST23, The Woman Who Crossed the Road is a piece of contemporary theatre created by Najmeh Shoara and Kevin Dyer about a woman who bears the marks of being displaced but who, because of her courage and intelligence, is kicking back as hard as she can. The performance is based on the true stories of the many women forced to leave places and start over again and whilst pre-dating the tragic death of Mahsa Amini in Iran in September 2022, it was updated to more strongly reflect its Iranian origins and alignment with the current protests there. Narrated by Shoara, courtesy of a Zoom link, the words are transformed through physical performance from Stephanie Greer. Whilst this is Shoara’s story, it is more than that. Her experiences resonate with those protesting ...

27May

By Jennifer LaishleyNo Comments

London

Invisible – Bush Theatre

Invisible by Nikhil Parmar is a one man show centring on the life of Zayan. The play explores what leads Zayan to feel invisible, as he is outcast by his loved ones and wider society. Nikhil has crafted a piece of theatre that deals with racism, Islamophobia in a powerful and thought-provoking way. Zayan is a struggling actor who is trying to navigate co-parenting with his ex’s new partner. In the play, Nikhil takes the audience through a series of events that lead Zayan to having destructive violent thoughts. It’s easy to see how small moments can build up and have dire consequences. Zayan is also grappling with the death of his sister. Nikhil is a captivating performer and holds the space and audience’s attention throughout the piece. Nikhil quickly sets the tone of the piece an...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare’s Globe

27May

By Aditi DalalNo Comments

London

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare’s Globe

Elle While presents a vibrant, new production of the widely performed, if not widely loved play. With a few contemporary references thrown in and some of the original text being reinterpreted for modern times, the show feels like a fresh chaotic riot. It is amazing how many versions of the same play can be created! The bright costumes by takis keep the Elizabethan spirit alive and the specific colours for each character help even novices keep track of the changing affections between the lovers. The boisterousness of the costumes is carried through in the movement direction by Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster. The cast seems to be in a two and half hour long party, with everyone in a highly intoxicated but slickly controlled state, springing off the magnanimous stage. But all is not brigh...

Nobody’s Perfect – Little Theatre, Birkenhead

27May

By Bev ClarkNo Comments

North West

Nobody’s Perfect – Little Theatre, Birkenhead

‘Capable cast entertain with a gentle comedy.’ The Woolgathers of Heswall return to the Little Theatre Birkenhead with their second production, after their very successful Agatha Christie’s The Hollow earlier this year. Nobody’s Perfect by Simon Williams is a lesser known romantic comedy, which boarders on farce in places. Williams was a TV actor and voice-over artist but he has some writing credits from the 1990s, which might seem to some a little dated now. It’s a rather cliched but whimsical plot and does offer some funny lines and four characters that give actors some comic opportunities. Being the first night we were treated to an added surprise to open the show – The Bunker Boys Choir formed ten years ago with members of the Heswall Golf Club. The chaps gave us twen...

Quines Cast Podcast Season Two Launch: RIOT – Traverse Theatre

27May

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Quines Cast Podcast Season Two Launch: RIOT – Traverse Theatre

Disembodied voices snap-chat earnestly. The cast is meritorious. They posit thoughts and summaries upon a serious issue, in this case, RIOT: why riots happen and the impact of rioting. But the disembodied voices are simply sound bites without flesh: skinny starters for discussion rather than a proper, in-depth discourse. If I were one of those bright, energetic, purposeful women who contributed, I’d have shivered to be reduced to a sound bite. But maybe it was ironic? Maybe I missed the point? The voices felt reminiscent of Loose Women: trite opinions aired for entertainment. Having said that, I was won over by Jessica Gaitán Johannesson. She read a piece specifically written for RIOT which was measured, thoughtful, factual and gripping. She embodied all the things that women are per...

27May

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Modest – Hull Truck Theatre

Elizabeth Southerden Thompson was a name unknown to me until I watched Modest, at Hull Truck Theatre, on Thursday evening. The year is 1874, and budding artist Elizabeth (Emer Dineen), dares to not only paint a portrait of fighting Crimean War soldiers (a very unladylike act at the time), but also to enter it into the Royal Academy's public art exhibition at a time when women were neither seen, nor heard. Titled The Roll Call, it is generally assumed the scene represented the aftermath of the Battle of Inkerman; but that fact wasn't the mean reason the members of the Academy were against accepting it. They just couldn't get it into their top-hatted heads that a woman could envisage such a barbaric scene when she should be at home doing needlepoint and sniffing her pomander. The me...

Every Leaf A Hallelujah – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

27May

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Every Leaf A Hallelujah – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

The play follows the quest of determined Mangoshi, who is searching for a unique flower for her ill mother. Encouraged by her caring father and led by the sassy chief of trees 'Baobab', we are immediately immersed into this world of colour, beauty and grace of trees and abundance. In straightforward language, the play makes space for different emotions, from curiosity to fear, which would be an excellent tool for parents and teachers to pick up with students after watching the play. The play also illustrates how the 'mycorrhizal network' supported by the mycelium fungi helps trees pass messages about their joy and pain to one another. Based on Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri's new fairytale, Every Leaf A Hallelujah. The play brings together music, poetry, movement and transformation for our p...