REVIEWS Archives - Page 332 of 344

Tonight at the London Coliseum: Carrie Hope Fletcher

25Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Tonight at the London Coliseum: Carrie Hope Fletcher

From the moment I saw Carrie Hope Fletcher, I was mesmerised. A petite girl-next-door with a big voice, she blew me away when I saw snippets of her 3-year stint as Les Misérables’ tragic demi-heroine Éponine at the Queen’s Theatre, London, from 2013-2016. So, naturally, I jumped at the chance to review a one-time exclusive pre-recorded event - a night at the London Coliseum with Fletcher herself, delivered by Broadway on Demand. As the show was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, the performance took place in front of an empty theatre, but Carrie’s talent is such that all she needed was a microphone, a piano, and her tremendous voice. That was enough to fill the London Coliseum twice over, with plenty more to spare. What a performance it was! The only thing that was missing was t...

La Bohème Live at The Drive-In – ENO, East Car Park, Alexandra Palace

25Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

La Bohème Live at The Drive-In – ENO, East Car Park, Alexandra Palace

Monty Python used to say, and now for something completely different, and ne’er was a truer word said than with ENO director P.J. Harris’ contemporary English language adaptation of Puccini’s classic opera, and it is also transformed from its 19th C Parisian location to a modern-day encampment in a disused London car park, where we meet our four struggling hipsters: poet Rodolfo (David Butt Philip); painter Marcello (Roderick Williams); philosopher cum photographer Colline (William Thomas); and musician Schaunard (Benson Wilson), who arrives having had some good fortune. They are interrupted by Benoît (Trevor Eliot Bowes), a security guard, but cleverly trick him to avoid paying him his dues. Whilst the others leave, Rodolfo remains but is interrupted by a young lady needing a light fo...

Romantic Anonymous Live Broadcast – Bristol Old Vic

24Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

South West

Romantic Anonymous Live Broadcast – Bristol Old Vic

Wise Children and director Emma Rice serve up a delightful musical comedy confection based on the quirky French film Les Émotifs Anonymes, written by Jean-Pierre Améris and Philippe Blasband, with this real-time broadcast from Bristol Old Vic. Angélique (Carly Bawden) is a gifted chocolate maker inhibited by social anxiety and Jean-René (Marc Antolin) the boss of a failing chocolate factory. Angélique is so timid, she faints when people look at her; Jean-René is so awkward he relies on self-help tapes and is prone to embarrassing sweating. When Angélique takes a job in Jean-René’s struggling factory, a fragile love affair unfolds. Funny, tender, and painfully awkward in moments we will all recognise, Romantics Anonymous – book by Emma Rice, Lyrics by Christopher Dimond, Music by Mic...

22Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

A Marvellous Party – Stream Theatre

The Noel Coward foundation managed to present a transatlantic celebration of Noel Coward, filled to the brim with star-studded names from both UK and American theatre! It provided us with an evening of monologues, as well as musical numbers all interspersed with footage from the Noel Coward archives. Many great names came together to create this piece and it was refreshing to see the different takes plus having some spoken word pieces alongside songs. It was also a joy to watch Robert Lindsey and Giles Terera’s segments, as these were filmed inside theatres and provided hope that we will be back inside them soon! The evening provided a rare opportunity to see numerous faces together, perhaps for the first and only time. Personal highlights were Bebe Neuwirth and Patricia Routledge,...

21Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Swan Song – Liverpool Theatre Festival

Award-winning writer Jonathan Harvey’s clever monologue was first performed at the Edinburgh Festival and Hampstead Theatre in 1997. Reimagined by Harvey for the Liverpool Theatre Festival, and under the direction of BAFTA award-winning director Noreen Kershaw, it stars Andrew Lancel as English teacher Dave Titswell in a world that is changing both inside and outside of his treasured classroom. Delivered over five segued acts, we humorously contemplate Dave’s lessons in life, garnered from his twenty five years in the teaching profession, as he is faced with the conundrum of whether he has now reached the end of the line or if a school trip to the Lakes will change things for the better. With liberal doses of good humour throughout, what we discover on the way as we navigate his overzealo...

Tonight at the London Coliseum: Sharon D Clarke

20Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

Tonight at the London Coliseum: Sharon D Clarke

When you think of West End stalwarts, it’s safe to say that Sharon D Clarke would appear on a lot of people’s lists. Having starred in musicals such as We Will Rock You, Ghost, Hairspray, Caroline or Change and Once on this Island, it’s safe to say that at some point or another at lot of us have enjoyed at least one of her powerhouse performances. More recently she performed a stunning rendition of ‘At Last’ for the BBC’s VE Day celebration. Clarke really thought out the set list of songs for this concert, some to help us reflect on the times we’re currently enduring and other to cheer us up and make us forget – but each one had her take on it. It was a perfect balance, especially with the tales she would regale us with. From being mistaken as Whoopi Goldberg, to holidays and ane...

19Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

London

The Boss of it All – Soho Theatre

New Perspectives’ The Boss of it All, adapted from the Lars Von Trier film of the same name by director, Jack McNamara, has been especially tailored to show office life in lockdown, with all the fun of working from home and life on furlough. Mr Ravn (Ross Armstrong) is negotiating the future of the IT company he works for with Finnur (Le Gateau Chocolat), a successful Icelandic businessperson. Unfortunately, the company’s boss, Svenya, is an absent American who only communicates with him via email. So he hires struggling actor, Kristina (Josie Lawrence) to perform as the boss during negotiations. Unfortunately, his plan to have this as a one-off performance goes wrong, and Kristina soon finds herself embroiled in office politics and facing the consequences of all the unpopular decision...

Judy and Liza – Liverpool Theatre Festival

19Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Judy and Liza – Liverpool Theatre Festival

The glamour and glitz of Vaudeville brought joy in a derelict church in Liverpool on an Autumn evening. Judy and Liza is a musical homage and biopic of these giants of the big screen and stage Judy Garland, played by Helen Sheals (Mrs Wigan from Downton Abbey) and Liza Minnelli played by Emma Dears (West End singer/actress who also created the show). The show explores through songs, memories and anecdotes, the talents and turbulence of this mother and daughter relationship as they leaf through the family photo album. There is such a richness of songs between the two that the difficulty was which numbers to leave out. It starts with Garland’s childhood. She was born the youngest of three daughters to Frank and Ethel Gumm, who had their own movie theatre and were keen to introduce ...

Music of The Night – Liverpool Theatre Festival

18Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Music of The Night – Liverpool Theatre Festival

Last night I was back again to the Liverpool theatre festival at St Luke’s Church for another show entitled Music of the Night. A show full of some of the greatest musical numbers of all time. The show was sung by to performers Roy Locke who has starred in Phantom of the Opera in Australia and Germany. Joining him was Olivia Brereton who was in the recent Les Misérables tour and has played Christine in Phantom on the West End. From the off the singing was out of this world and in a cloudless night sky it was the perfect setting for this show. We learned about their careers and why they choose the songs. However, I found the set up of the show frustrating. They played music before the show to set the mood but half of the songs they played we heard again with them singing. I’m all...

The Very Best Of Tommy Cooper (Just like that!) – Liverpool Theatre Festival

15Sep

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

NEWS, North West

The Very Best Of Tommy Cooper (Just like that!) – Liverpool Theatre Festival

I backed a horse today at 20 to 1… it came in at 20 past 4 As a child I remember sitting with the family and on came this man in a fez he was funny and very silly his name was Tommy Cooper. I remember thinking I’d love to see this man live but sadly he passed away. So, when I saw that the Liverpool Theatre Festival had a Tommy Copper show, I jumped at the chance to go. Daniel Taylor a local Liverpudlian actor best known for his tenure as Sammy Johnstone in Blood brothers in both the tour and West End show was playing the Magician. Upon entering the St Luke’s Church venue, I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I can tell you is that I didn’t expect what I saw. Daniel Taylor was the living embodiment of the late great Tommy Cooper. His voice, tone, mannerisms were nailed to a tee....