REVIEWS Archives - Page 321 of 417

28Feb

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Acosta Danza – Hull Truck Theatre

If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought the dancers I saw on the Hull New Theatre stage on Friday evening had molten rubber running through their veins, not blood - so supple were they. Acosta Danza 100% Cuban, the brainchild of international ballet star Carlos Acosta, is a mesmerising concoction of fast & furious and slow & sensuous - with effortless acrobatics thrown in. The most fantastically hypnotic and unforgettable music assaulted our senses throughout each performance, of which there were five. Liberto, Hybrid and De Punta a Cabo were all UK premieres, and according to the programme, Impronta and Paysage, Soudain, la nuit were both back by popular demand. So, five rousing chapters, each telling a different story. However, I have to confess that I could...

25Feb

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Doing Shakespeare – Hope Street Theatre

The Northern Comedy Theatre’s Doing Shakespeare, written by David Spicer and directed by Shaun Chambers, is a farcical romp through some of Shakespeare’s best loved plays. A local village theatre company have taken the decision to perform Shakespeare but haven’t actually agreed which play to do. This might all work out if they hadn’t also taken the decision to perform the play as Shakespeare himself would have done with little to no rehearsal and lots of improvisation. As they’ve all learned different plays, stitching their individual parts together will prove to be quite a difficult task! The play opens with Jason (Elliot Bailey) running through his vocal warm up before launching into the opening of Romeo and Juliet. He is embarrassed when his enthusiastic rendition is seen by the comp...

25Feb

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

The Collaboration – Young Vic

The thrill and danger of collaborating two differing artists is a risk. However, the result was intimate, powerful and devastating at times. You may never see the artist, only their work in which you project your own stories, but to see them firsthand on what inspires them to share such vulnerable images from their mind put onto a canvas, it’s a humbling experience. It’s without saying that this cast are masters at their craft. There was such a lack of ego between these actors, they gave themselves up completely to each other and it was almost quite terrifying how accurate the pair were to the artists. Jeremy Pope truly had snatched the breath out of everyone’s lungs in that theatre as he spins into whirlwinds of hysteria, too frightened to make a sound in case we were detrimental to hi...

24Feb

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Uncanny Valley – Battersea Arts Centre

Theatre has been pedestaled, historically, to create a sense of empathy within audiences. We identify with the players on stage. If the production is stirring enough, we end up following the performers’ breath patterns. But, what if the actor on stage is a robot? Would we still feel empathy? Would we still be able to release emotions or scramble for answers to explain our reality? Rimini Protokoll’s Uncanny Valley subverts the position of theatre and human existence by casting a lifelike animatronic model of Thomas Melle, the writer of The World at My Back. Conceived, written, and directed by Stefan Kaegi, Rimini Protocoll once again uses a novel and disruptive form to raise questions on human conditioning and its dependency on machines- “Are we human by our randomness?” Or are we just lik...

Bedknobs and Broomsticks – Liverpool Empire

24Feb

By Codie WrightNo Comments

North West

Bedknobs and Broomsticks – Liverpool Empire

As someone who has never seen Bedknobs and Broomsticks (I know, I know, I feel like I missed out on many a cult classic) I was worried that I wouldn’t love the musical as much as someone who has nostalgia on their side. I needn’t have worried. I can hand on heart say that that was one of the most beautiful and magical shows I have ever seen in my life - or beauti-cal as our 3 heroes (Charles, Carrie and Paul) would say. We start the show with a bang, quite literally, in a breath-taking sequence of physical theatre. Beginning with the three children happily in their cosy bedroom, their mother and father saying goodnight before a sudden explosion tears their home, and lives, apart. There’s no time to gather their thoughts as we follow them, silently, as they leave the broken streets...

23Feb

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Red Pitch – Bush Theatre

This is an electrifying piece of theatre with a strong sense of community at its core. From the moment you enter the performance space, it is buzzing as the boys bounce around the stage, preparing for a match. You are plunged into their territory from the get-go and feel drunk on their energy and enthusiasm. Omz, Joey and Bilal navigate their worlds of South London as 16-year-old boys at an exciting, pivotal point in their lives. The play is a testament to the strength of friendship and the trials and tribulations of youth as well as an exploration of gentrification from the differing perspectives of these young people. This outstanding play-writing debut by Tyrell Williams is a masterclass in comedy and authenticity. Williams truly captures the spirit of banterous teenage boys on the b...

23Feb

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Private Lives – Lyceum Theatre

Private Lives is one of Noël Coward’s best-known and most-produced plays, and it is easy to see why. This two-hour production is absolutely full of snappy one-liners and delightfully stormy relationships. As the play opens, we meet Amanda and Elyot, who have been divorced for five years. Now recently remarried, we find them on the first night of their honeymoons as they discover that they have coincidentally booked adjacent rooms at the same hotel in the south of France... If you want to know what happens next, well, you’ll have to book tickets for the play! Originally starring Coward himself and Gertrude Lawrence, the leading parts are performed here by Nigel Havers, whose theatre company is also co-producing the tour, and Patricia Hodge, supported by Dugald Bruce-Lockhart as Victor...

23Feb

By Alison BainesNo Comments

North West

Fatal Attraction – Opera House

Hide your pets! The femme fatale has arrived in Manchester as the motion picture ‘Fatal Attraction’ hits the Opera House stage – with a soap star studded cast, led by Coronation Street’s Oliver Farnworth and Kym Marsh in addition to Footballer’s Wives star Susie Amy. When happily married Dan Gallagher meets Alex, the pair share one weekend of passion. Dan quickly discovers love is a dangerous game and as he returns home, he realises this is one mistake he cannot forget. Kym plays Alex, a somewhat outdated stereotype of the over-sexualised, psychotic ‘other woman’. Marsh definitely gives the character the desired sensual nature and body language that the character demands, and her regular hysteric interludes bring a dramatic edge and thrill to the play. ©Tristram Kenton Oliver Fa...

The Rocky Horror Show – Edinburgh King’s Theatre

22Feb

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Rocky Horror Show – Edinburgh King’s Theatre

Sexy, Camp and a real cult classic. Rocky horror has been entertaining us musical weirdos since 1973 and to this day has yet to lose its charm and fun. Before the show even begins, you’ll find yourself surrounded by its fans decked out in suspenders, corsets, feather bowers and tinier shorts than you could have mentally prepared yourself for. Rocky Horror is a sci-fi rock musical all about giving into your own sexual desires and discovering one’s self, but with aliens! These are not the green little Martians we televise but a group of human looking aliens from the distant planet of Transexual Transylvania. They are sexy, strange and at times dangerous. When newly engaged and conservative couple Brad (Ore Oduba) and Janet (Haley Flaherty) turn up at their door, all hell breaks loos...

22Feb

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

REVIEWS

Is He Musical? – MP Theatricals

In 2022, as much as we’d like to think we’re inclusive, there’s a lot of people who still aren’t, but to put it in perspective; compared to 90 years ago we have come a long way. Is he musical? Is the story of Laurence and Wilfred who are involved in a series of wonderful and indulgent nights across London’s west end, at the back end of 1933. However, because Laurence, Wilfred and their friends are gay, these evenings are held in secret. How long can this go on? Will they be found out? Jude Taylor’s (he/him) musical comedy takes us on a journey, not only back in time, but also a journey of emotions. We live the highs and lows with Laurence and Wilfred and experience their emotions too. The book on the whole, is good, but with a bit more work, it could be a truly great piece of theatre...