REVIEWS Archives - Page 329 of 549

26Apr

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Blood Brothers – Sheffield Lyceum

The ‘Liverpudlian folk opera’ known as Blood Brothers has been a theatrical success since its inception by Willy Russell, winning the 1983 Laurence Olivier Award as Best New Musical. Its 1987 revival saw 10,000 consecutive performances in its 24-year run in the West End. With a two year run on Broadway and UK and International touring productions, Blood Brothers has earned its place as a firm favourite of our time with its strong book, it has a tale to tell and is a musical that is loved by people who hate musicals! Blood Brothers is a very simple story but everything about it screams EPIC. The present touring production is directed by long associates of the musical - Bob Thomson and Bill Kenwright, designed by Adam Walmsley with lighting and sound design by Nick Richings and Dan ...

26Apr

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Jules and Jim – Jermyn Street Theatre

Henri-Pierre Roche's classic 1952 novel, which was made into a renowned 1962 film directed by François Truffault, has been adapted for the stage by Timberlake Wertenbaker and presented at the Jermyn Street Theatre. It tells the story over 25 years from 1907 of two young men, one German, one French, who meet and form a firm and long-lasting friendship based upon their love of writing. Their friendship is disturbed when they come across the enigmatic Kath, whose smile they liken to the statue of a Greek goddess they had been infatuated with when they came across it on holiday. Kath has a dramatic impact on the lives of them, but never destroys the firmness of their friendship. It is a play about the centrality of love and friendship to life. Wertenbaker's script is...

Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera – Leicester Square Theatre

26Apr

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera – Leicester Square Theatre

Relentlessly loud, unsubtle and lacking any pretence to charm or wit, Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera by Harry Hill and Steve Brown rattles through Blair's greatest life hits, from birth to eventual death, interspersed by his political rise and prosecution of four wars. It's an in-your-face puerile comedy at times hilarious but also cringeworthy. Blair is presented as weak, ineffectual and easily manipulated by those around him, particularly his wife, Cherie, Comms Director Peter Mandelson, and President Bush. A parade of political figures from Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden to John Prescott, Gordon Brown, Neil Kinnock and David Blunkett (with toy guide dog) populate the political landscape of Blair's career. The saving grace of the production is the cast. Full of energy and t...

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead – The Lowry

26Apr

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead – The Lowry

Based on a 2018 novel which won the author Olga Tokarczuk the Nobel Prize for Literature, 'Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead' certainly takes the award for the most intriguing title to arrive at The Lowry in 2023. When you add leading actress Kathryn Hunter to the mix, spearheading a Complicite production, then theatrical mouths start to water at the prospect of these quality ingredients being brought together. However, despite an astonishing central performance as well as inventive and arresting visuals, by the conclusion I was left slightly confused and personally slightly underwhelmed. The production takes its name from a line in William Blake poem 'Proverbs of Hell' and the 19th Century romantic poet is at the heart of this layered and dark story, combining e...

26Apr

By Louise KershawNo Comments

North West

Pronoun – Altrincham Garrick Studio

Evan Placey’s Pronoun is the fourth production in Altrincham Garrick’s LGBTQ+ themed season and was written as one of ten plays for the NT Connections 2014 programme. Inspired by a homophobic encounter, Placey wrote the pieces as honest plays for teenage audiences to help them make their own minds up about the world. The audience last night certainly appreciated his efforts as this snappy, witty and quick paced piece worked its magic in this very enjoyable production. The young cast worked as a strong ensemble to tell the story of Dean (Portia Dodds) a transgender teenager transitioning from female to male during his A Level years. Despite being supported by family and friends, their pre-conceptions, constant questions and well intended care do not hide the difficulties they experience ...

26Apr

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Home, I’m Darling – Alexandra Theatre

Laura Wade has held her own as both a playwright and screenwriter with numerous successes to her name. “The Riot Club” was adapted from her play “Posh” offered early career chances to Freddie Fox and Tom Hollander and she soon has an adapted of agilely Cooper novel coming our from Disney. “Home, I’m Darling” opened at the National Theatre in 2019 followed by a season at the Duke of York’s and has proved itself a hit which left me wondering what I was missing. A small but keen audience arrived last night at the Alexandra and clearly enjoyed their evening. Tamara Harvey directs with attention to detail but creates scenes of such speed I was left a little bewildered. The tempo of each scene and pitch of so many of the voices is relentlessly similar and makes for a hard watch. Jessica Ranso...

26Apr

By David S ClarkeNo Comments

North West

Guys & Dolls – Forum Theatre, Romiley

This production is based on the stories and characters from the 1950 books written by Damon Runyon. These stories centred on the underground crime scene of the 1920s and 1930s and was written by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows around the already established music and lyrics of Frank Loesser. The original Broadway production premiered in 1950 and has enjoyed numerous revivals over the years. The show is set in Times Square in New York City but moves along to Havana in Cuba and eventually into the underground sewers of New York, but by the end everybody ends up where they belong. The show was complimented with a live band conducted by the excellent Ed Nurse as Musical Director with, for me, a particularly impressive female reed section, although all the musicians played their parts to perfection...

26Apr

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

All Shook Up – Daneside Theatre

For those who know me, know I am not the biggest fan of jukebox musicals, so would a trip to see the very same genre tonight in Congleton change my opinion? The short answer is no, however tonight was one of the best productions I have seen of the genre with powerhouse performances coming from the stage in rapid succession. I must start by mentioning the visuals created by Simon Matthews, who also directs the show. 8 video walls places across the stage left you in no doubt as to where the on-stage action was taking place. From an American street complete with moving bus to a disused fairground nothing on show tonight would have looked out of place on a West End Stage. Cleverly designed lighting from Nick Walker complemented the screens however at times a little more face light could hav...

The Bridges of Madison County – George Lawton Hall, Mossley

25Apr

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

The Bridges of Madison County – George Lawton Hall, Mossley

I have long since been a fan of amateur dramatics, so when the chance came to review The Bridges of Madison County by the Mossley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society (MAODS), I approached the performance with a healthy mix of trepidation and anticipation. The story has multiple points of reference from its many adaptations – firstly the 1992 novel by Robert James Waller, closely followed a few years later by the 1995 motion picture starting Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood, finally being adapted as a stage musical in 2013. And it’s easy to see why there has been multiple iterations of this story across the years that have captured the hearts and minds of audiences and performers alike. For those unfamiliar with the story of The Bridges of Madison County, it’s about an Italian expat ...

Pride & Prejudice *(*sort of) – Leeds Grand Theatre

25Apr

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Pride & Prejudice (sort of) – Leeds Grand Theatre

There have been plenty of versions in every medium of Jane Austen’s biting satire on the absurd manners in 19th century England, but none quite like this irrelevant romp through one of the greatest novels ever written. This is a world where women had less rights than children, sadly still true in some parts of the world, but Austen lays down a subtle challenge to that established order. That’s the trigger for a hard-working, five strong female cast to let rip as the ludicrous Mrs Bennet ruthlessly tries to marry off one of her five daughters before they end up in the poor house, as none of them can legally inherit their father’s estate. The distinctive thing about this part farce, part panto, but always on point, production is we hear from the servants who are bit players in the nove...