REVIEWS Archives - Page 334 of 549

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

12Apr

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

IMHO the fairy tale tradition meets tattoos meets masks meets humour meets intense physical creativity meets time … is a feast. Matthew Bourne’s recreation of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty is all his Gothic own and yet not. The man himself credits the original dancers with contributing to the exquisite storytelling and, there is no doubt, his long-term collaboration with designer Lez Brotherston is a winning combination. It is a beautiful creation of light and dark. The performers clearly love what they do and their passion bleeds into the auditorium and captures your body and soul. Bourne cares about every detail and he inspires equal attentiveness in his cast and crew. The result is a deeply, deeply satisfying and uplifting narrative. A radical vampiric element is stirred into vari...

Heathers the Musical – Regent Theatre, Stoke

12Apr

By Leanne RushtonNo Comments

North West

Heathers the Musical – Regent Theatre, Stoke

Heathers the musical based on the cult classic film of the same name has hit Stoke-on-Trent. The show which has played packed out audiences in London is now touring the UK. The Regent Theatre is an extremely accommodating theatre for this even handing out iconic scrunchies to those of us lucky enough to review. The audience was packed out with a variety of ages, but a huge margin of the audience went to teens. It was so lovely to watch to see that shows like Heathers are keeping the audience engaged in the theatre. There were murmurs before the show of people excited to see the cult film brought to life. What can I say, brought to life it was. The show was mesmerising you couldn't take your eye off any of the action taking place on the stage. Everywhere you looked the ensemble was br...

11Apr

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Stornoway, Quebec – Traverse Theatre

The year, 1888. The place, Stornoway. But far from the sharp coastline characteristic of the Outer Hebrides, the action is set in a forgotten town in Quebec during the worst snow blizzard of the year. The set up is simple: five people who shouldn’t be near each other end up trapped in a saloon where a mix of whisky and ether seems to be the soup of the day. Stornoway Quebec is the latest (and probably the only one of its kind) play by prolific writer Calum L. MacLeod for Scotland’s Gaelic language drama company Theatre Gu Leòr. It follows the story of Màiri MacNeill - Elspeth Turner-, a Barra-born but Texas-raised bounty hunter who after a betrayal, is on the hunt of Canada’s most wanted outlaw, Donald Morrison. A series of leads brings Mairi to a remote inn run by Mrs and Mr Bouc...

11Apr

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Sleeping Beauty – Epstein Theatre

It felt unusual travelling to the theatre on a very sunny and reasonably warm day to see a pantomime, but everyone’s favourite Christmas activity is making a nationwide spring comeback, with theatres around the UK, resurrecting the festive tradition for the Easter season. The Epstein Theatre’s offering is Sleeping Beauty, the traditional story of a beautiful princess who pricks her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel on her birthday, falling asleep for one hundred years until awoken by True Love’s Kiss. Written by Liam Mellor and directed by Chantelle Nolan, this fun jukebox musical pantomime features all of the traditional elements with lots of opportunity for audience participation. The pantomime is opened by our narrator, Fairy Sparkle (Katy Mac) who lives up to her glittering ...

The Two Gentlemen of Verona (& Sonnet 104) – Barons Court Theatre

8Apr

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

The Two Gentlemen of Verona (& Sonnet 104) – Barons Court Theatre

Relentless, quick-witted, fast-paced, surprising. Shakespeare has not yet said everything he had to say. The approach taken by Evan L. Barker in this new staging of Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona is to set the action in a school environment, redefining and giving new meaning to the situations the characters are put through and their decisions in that context. The apparent freedom of the cast in the performance, while being strict with the words and rhythm of the piece (abridged and adapted by the same Barker), gives it a solidity and integrity that further contributes to a contemporary interpretation of the play. The audience is received by a character painting on stage. After a short very intense introduction where the actors rile up the audience and set the tone with juv...

Beauty and the Beast – St Helens Theatre Royal

8Apr

By Luke StephensonNo Comments

North West

Beauty and the Beast – St Helens Theatre Royal

It’s time for a seasonal pantomime in St Helens and this spring offering is a Regal Entertainment’s version of Beauty and the Beast written by Liam Mellor and directed by Chantelle Nolan. As with all pantomimes here at Theatre Royal and I’ve reviewed many here it was full of audience interactions, audience participation and the odd on the fence joke with an audience member or two getting involved on stage. So, to the story, Fairy Rose (Maria Lovelady) came on to the stage to tell us all about the little town of petit pois. Gaston (Auguste Voulton) with his big muscles and charisma wanted to take Belle (Lauren McCrory) as his bride but she wasn’t interested and definitely didn’t want to marry him, so Gaston and his mother Madame Botox (Abigail Middleton) hatched a plan by slipping a poti...

Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice – Hull New Theatre

8Apr

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice – Hull New Theatre

Hull New Theatre was far from full on Friday evening, when the UK premiere of Dada Masilo’s The Sacrifice took to its stage. The fact it was Good Friday and potential theatregoers might have had other plans may have accounted for the empty seats. But the lengthy applause from an appreciative audience for all on stage, at the show’s end, showed that those who did take up the seats were heartily glad they made the effort. First to appear on the stage - whose backdrop of bare tree branches hardly changed throughout - were three very talented musicians playing keyboards, violin and a most unusual array of instruments that made sounds I simply cannot describe. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. Award-winning choreographer, Masilo, hails from South Africa, so she is more than q...

8Apr

By Andrew LeeNo Comments

North West

Barely Visible – Unity Theatre

Unity theatre continues to offer a space for important and thought-provoking theatre to the city of Liverpool, and Barely Visible is no different. The venue is unique because whenever you attend the theatre, you feel that the audience invariably are on the side of the performers, they are there to learn as much as to be entertained, and performer Rowena Gander certainly achieved this. Barely Visible is a piece of physical theatre, including movement and dance around primarily pole work. It highlights social attitudes towards the lesbian community and tackles the lasting effects of some of the key difficulties lesbian women face. Quite often the phrase thought-provoking is banded around, but it is safe to say that many members of the audience left Unity this evening having learned som...

8Apr

By Dave SmithNo Comments

London

The Dry House – Marylebone Theatre

Chrissy (Mairead McKinley) is passed out on the couch. Her house around her is dishevelled, empty beer cans and wine bottles litter the floor. The walls are showing damp and mould, and everything looks to be in need of a good clean. Her sister, Claire (Kathy Kiera Clarke) arrives having agreed to bring four final drinks before Chrissy has agreed to go to an alcohol treatment facility. The Dry House is staged in a small letter box, the surround of the stage blacked out, leaving us focused on the unkempt home and the women before us. The relationship between the two sisters feels very real, we see and feel the long history between them, picking up on snippets of family background and times shared together. Chrissy always liked a drink but after the death of her daughter Heather (Carla Lan...

Bach St Matthew’s Passion – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

8Apr

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Bach St Matthew’s Passion – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

Revered as one of the greatest choral works ever composed, Bach's St Matthew's Passion is a timeless classic. This performance is to Mendelssohn's arrangement and is sung in German. An emotional, complex and challenging work - a challenge which the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir rise to. The stage is packed and the anticipation is palpable. With a quick nod to the audience, conductor Andrew Manze is keen to get going and promptly launches the room into the evening. Dark, throbbing chords echo like a pulse as the opening chorus of The Passion begins. As well as the full Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir, the Youth Choir are present for the opening chorus with chorale. The sound is alarmingly mournful. Carrying an edge of dystopia with it, the layers of the choir ring a...