REVIEWS Archives - Page 336 of 548

Ocean At The End Of The Lane – Bradford Alhambra

5Apr

By Bo WarnerNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Ocean At The End Of The Lane – Bradford Alhambra

“Somehow it was personal for them as well… people who, when they were children, found books safer than other people…” – Neil Gaiman Ocean at the End of the Lane was adapted for the stage by the National Theatre from the magical, surrealist book by acclaimed fantasy author Neil Gaiman, reaching the West End in 2021. After its critically-acclaimed run in the West End, Ocean is now on its first national tour around the UK, and I was privileged to catch it at the Bradford Alhambra. This is a story following a Boy’s relationship with the three strange women that have occupied Hempstock farm for as long as anyone can remember. He encounters strange creatures on the edges of reality, and soon finds that he can no longer tell where imagination stops and real life begins as an intruder begins...

5Apr

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

When All is Said – Unity Theatre

Fuel Theatre’s When All is Said is a collection of five short plays, that are written by Black Trans people, in their own voices and performed over the phone. Each play lasts approximately 30 minutes and tells a different story about what life is like, if you are considered ‘different’ from the people around you. I heard ‘Home is where your heart is lying on the open roads’ which was written by the Curator of the pieces, Travis Alabanza and was performed by Alexis Meshida. It is a taxi journey that journeys into the past and shapes us and the places we live/are from. Meshida was able to convey compassion, empathy, anger and was able to take you on the full journey through the telling of the story. The piece was well written and made you think about your own interactions and actions. The...

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide – Apollo Theatre

5Apr

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide – Apollo Theatre

The buzz around this play got fizzing when it first landed at the New Diorama Theatre in 2021. By the time it transferred to the Royal Court the following year, it had a grass roots momentum that grew without the help of critics or reviews. It became a sell-out sensation long before the big nods and nominations that are currently adding to the wild applause from enthusiastic audiences. For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets to Heavy by Ryan Calais Cameron has just transferred to the Apollo in the risk-averse and cheesy West End. It’s shaking up the quo and breaking down barriers with dizzying skill and gusto. Before the curtain went up, it was thrilling to note that it felt like an EVENT. The air crackled with excitement and anticipation. This was a largely blac...

Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story – Online

5Apr

By Louise PennNo Comments

REVIEWS

Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story – Online

Awkward Productions’ latest show streams across the world by popular (and very possibly, Royal) command following a successful run at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe and at the Pleasance in London. Linus Karp’s earlier work has been of the Jellicle kind, but here he brings another icon to the stage in the person of Diana, Princess of Wales. With the help of his trusty PowerPoint, and his partner Joseph Martin’s sound design, Diana comes to life to tell her tale. A cast of many is briskly performed, as are many costume changes. This show revels in its irreverence. This is Diana as you have never seen her, as we join her in heaven for her own, hilarious, autobiography. Karp looks the part with the downcast eyes and part-pout, and in bringing Diana’s ‘story’ to the stage, has pre-...

5Apr

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Lucrezia Borgia – Storyhouse, Chester

Oozing intrigue, darkly dramatic and set against a backdrop of 14th century Italy, English Touring Opera bring all they have to the party in this production. Composed by Gaetano Donizetti - whose opera works are often overlooked in the canon - this 1833 offering focuses on historical figure, Lucrezia Borgia. Surrounded by myth and misadventure, the opera provides an interpretation of her life. Is this femme fatale wrongly recorded in the history books? Or is she as scheming and murderous as the archives make out? Directed by Eloise Lally and conducted by Gerry Cornelius, this Lucrezia Borgia quickly absorbs the audience. The curtain rises to show what initially looks like a simple set, with a full moon in the distance and a decorative gondola in the foreground. However, you soon r...

We Wish You Long Life – Synagogue Scratch at Manchester Jewish Museum

4Apr

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

We Wish You Long Life – Synagogue Scratch at Manchester Jewish Museum

Performing as part of Manchester Jewish Museum’s inaugural Synagogue Scratch season, We Wish You Long Life, written by Amy Lever and directed by Helen Parry, explores cultural integration, shared memory, and family ties, when Steven (Robin Simpson), raised Catholic, is brought begrudgingly by his wife, Mary (Orline Riley), to a Jewish house of mourning for a person he doesn’t seem to remember. Father and daughter, David (Danny Ryder) and Katie (Lever), await the arrival of the Irish Catholic side of their family whilst food caterer Karen (Tilly Sutcliffe) begins to wonder if this is the strangest event ever. A Q&A session with the writer, director, and cast followed which provided useful background on the piay which began life as a ten-minute piece as part of a short play festival ‘...

4Apr

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

REVIEWS

Falstaff – Met Opera Live in HD

Behind every great man there is a greater woman and none more so than in Gina Lapinski’s revival of Robert Carson’s 2013 production of Verdi’s final masterpiece, a comic opera drawn from Shakespeare and reimagined in a post-war 1950’s Windsor with a stylish, satirical and slapstick production that fools nobody: it is superb. Caddish knight Falstaff (Michael Volle) informs Bardolfo (Chauncey Packer) and Pistola (Richard Bernstein) that he intends to seduce Alice Ford (Ailyn Pérez) and Meg Page (Jennifer Johnson Cano) but when they refuse to deliver the letters, he throws them out. When the letters are eventually received, Mistress Quigley (Marie-Nicole Lemieux), Meg, Alice, and her daughter Nanetta (Hera Hyesang Park), laugh over their similarity and decide to get their revenge. Meanwhil...

2Apr

By Ella CatherallNo Comments

Scotland

Castle Lennox – Royal Lyceum Theatre

‘Castle Lennox’, presented by the Royal Lyceum Theatre of Edinburgh and Lung Ha Theatre Company, tells the story of Annis, a young Autistic woman who is sent to the titular Castle Lennox, a mental institution, and her interactions with both staff and fellow patients. Where this show shines is in its representation of disabled people. The show features a majority disabled cast, and all disabled characters in the show are played by disabled actors. That this show is able to provide opportunities for disabled creatives is admirable and something I hope to see more of – I’ll definitely be a closer follower of the work of the Lung Ha Theatre Company from now on. Arguably more notable is that the disabled characters in this show are well-developed, full people that exist as more than inspirat...

Beethoven’s Eroica – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

2Apr

By Ezzy LaBelleNo Comments

North West

Beethoven’s Eroica – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

The historical and the heroic meet for an evening of bold musical flavours and a mixture of melodies as the Philharmonic Orchestra take you on a journey of strife, struggle, freedom and fervour. Blending the new and the familiar, conductor Joshua Weilerstein leads the auditorium through renditions of 'Ethiopia's Shadow in America' (Florence Price), Violin Concerto (Samuel Barber) and Symphony no.3 'Eroica (Ludwig Van Beethoven). The enthusiasm for the music is clear as he steps out. Passionately describing the background to Florence Price's 1932 symphony, he tells us that she was one of the first female black composers to have their work published and played to an audience. Much of her work was lost for a long time, being rediscovered in 2009, and has therefore not been heard. ...

2Apr

By Marita MatarNo Comments

London

Astoria – Jack Studio Theatre

‘There is so much we will never know’. Astoria written and directed by Tony Britten tells the story of Jura Soyfer, an Austrian political journalist and cabaret writer. His work was smuggled from Vienna and people worked hard to save it and archive it. The play is also the mouthpiece of this archive made visible in a performance. On stage we saw Jura Soyfer/Paul performed by Joshua Ginsberg, his partner Helli (Helene) Ultmann/Gwendolyn/Rosa (Olivia Benjamin,) as well as the group of actors and writers who were striving to keep the theater alive in a time where Germany is poised to annex Austria, in 1937, Jimmy Berg/Pistoletti/ The Applicant (Sam Denia), John Lehman (Taylor Danson), and Martin Miller/Hupka (Benjamin Chandler). Astoria appeared to be challenging modern ideas of a state...