REVIEWS Archives - Page 339 of 417

Bedknobs and Broomsticks – The Alexandra, Birmingham

12Nov

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

East Midlands

Bedknobs and Broomsticks – The Alexandra, Birmingham

What a lot of scenery! If you like scenery this is the show for you! Acres it, yards of it flash by one after another - flat trees, flat doors, flat clouds, flat waves all causing this reviewer to wonder how they manage to store it all in the wings rather than consider the show. There really was a lot it… “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” is almost a Disney classic or if you work for Disney it’s a classic. It’s one step below “Mary Poppins” but quite a number of steps above “The Fox and the Hound” adapted from the novels by Mary Norton (who despite having invented the whole thing doesn’t seem warrant a credit in the programme…) and, of course, from the movie with Angela Lansbury. And like all good movies it moves and this stage adaptation from Michael Harrison attempts to move with the same vi...

The Seven Pomegranate Seeds – Rose Theatre

11Nov

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

The Seven Pomegranate Seeds – Rose Theatre

Fifteen years after it was commissioned and performed as a staged reading, Colin Teevan’s contemporary amalgamation of mythical stories receives a stunning production at the Rose Theatre in Kingston. Directed and designed by Melly Still, the text brings to life the legends of female characters from Euripedes’ plays, namely Persephone, Hypsipyle, Medea, Alcestis, Phaedra, Creusa and Demeter, and situates them in the present-day UK. Each story touches upon different themes – rage, fear, vanity, obsession and more – and are tied together with a larger thread of motherhood, grief and loss. The show is backed by formidable performances by Niamh Cusack and Shannon Hayes who rely on rhythmic vocal delivery and effortless movement quality to bring out the best in Teevan’s text. Hayes’ embodimen...

11Nov

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

The Boy Out The City – Turbine Theatre

Welcome back, to a time quickly forgotten but deep rooted- the pandemic, 2020. Oh yes, lurking in the corner is a time most of us dread to think about just yet but in Declan Bennett’s one-man piece exploring his 3 lockdown special, we move through time, through cities and through all the alcohol in the house. Immediately we are thrown into an underground theatre, blasting 90’s house and the scheduled timing of the overground tube. Declan enters the stage, Guinness in hand and face mask on- which he proceeds to take off with great difficulty once attached around his mic, as a glasses owner- I understand this. This was an honest re-telling of his time alone in a countryside home during Christmas, as we know, possibly the hardest lockdown for a lot of people. As his boyfriend’s success all...

11Nov

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Carmen – The Lowry

Hard on the heels of 'Waitress' at the Opera House this week, another musical tale of female lust and empowerment comes to Manchester, with the arrival of Georges Bizet's 'Carmen' from Opera North playing at The Lowry. Unfortunately, whilst this production promises 'desire and hot-blooded passion', what we are served is a reheated dish that attempts to be innovative and succeeds only in being lacklustre and imitative. Carmen was hugely controversial upon its initial staging in 1875 with its story of immorality amongst the proletarian class of Andalucia; the eponymous heroine being both lawless, amoral and (spoiler alert) suffering a brutal on stage death at the denouement. Bizet died less than three months after the premiere of his final work, never getting to see it staged to internati...

10Nov

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Milk and Gall – Theatre 503

2016, a woman giving birth and an election. This play follows Vera, (MyAnna Buring) trying to understand being a mother in a very hopeless climate, one she certainly didn’t wish for and one she may have even decided to not have a child in- if she could start again. We are with Vera as she experiences the first year of her child’s life, a very honest and open experience of what new mothers may experience with all the sharp edges and hidden corners. The struggles matched with the consistent worry of the outside world, the wanting to do more and fighting politics with her husband’s mother. Photograph © Jane Hobson. I thought this writing was fantastic, Mathilde Dratwa led us through this year beautifully well and never fell short to surprise us. Their view on this world is abstract a...

10Nov

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Waitress – Manchester Opera House

In order to bake a perfect pie, it is necessary to have quality ingredients mixed in the correct proportions by an experienced baker; add in heat allied with perfect timing and a scrumptious pastry is produced. Just such a dish was served before the hungry and eager capacity audience at Manchester Opera House this evening as 'Waitress' begins a two-week residency in the city centre. The show arrives in Manchester in the midst of a UK wide tour, having been a huge Broadway and West End hit following its premiere back in 2016. The all-female creative triumvirate of Sarah Bareilles (Music & Lyrics), Jessie Nelson (Book) and Diane Paulus (Director) have crafted a warm and funny piece which simultaneously tugs at the heartstrings whilst also being unafraid to confront issues that women f...

10Nov

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Parade – Sheffield Theatre Deli

Parade by Jason Robert Brown is probably one of the most underrated musicals ever written. It is totally captivating from beginning to end with a powerful score and gripping storyline, the only down side is that it is not performed very often in this country. The musical is a dramatization of the 1913 trial, imprisonment and subsequent lynching, of Jewish American Leo Frank in Georgia. Tonight, Cutting Edge Productions brought this story to Theatre Deli in Sheffield where it continues until Saturday (13th November). https://www.cuttingedgetheatreco.com/ The lead role of Leo Frank requires an accomplished actor to play him, and tonight Dylan Lambert shone. His attention to detail in the role was impressive, he portrayed an introverted character with an inner determination to get perso...

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – Edinburgh King’s Theatre

9Nov

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – Edinburgh King’s Theatre

In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane arrives in the eerie world of secrets and unsettling tradition of Sleepy Hollow to become the town teacher. But not all is as it seems, for Ichabod Crane harbours his own dark secret.... The play is based on the 1820 gothic story by American author Washington Irving, contained in his collection of 34 essays and short stories titled The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Though the story is commonly accepted as having popularised the use of the pumpkin head at Halloween (replacing the turnip), it might be more familiar to most through its 1949 Disney adaptation and Tim Burton gothic nightmare. No, not the Dumbo remake. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) adapted The Legend into a half-hour short packaged with an adaptation of ...

9Nov

By Peter KinnockNo Comments

West Midlands

Groan-Ups – Wolverhampton Grand

It’s probably an apocryphal tale and often attributed to, among others, Edmund Kean, that on his deathbed he is asked how he feels to which he replies, “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.” And it is a wise aphorism borne out by tonight’s performance of “Groan-Ups” presented to us by Mischief Theatre who you will immediately recognise from “The Play that Goes Wrong” and TV’s hugely successful “Goes Wrong Show” - very familiar faces. Since giving us the first of those shows which was a smash hit in the West End they have travelled to Broadway and, having seen its original production, I can say it was undoubtedly one of the funniest evenings I have ever spent in a theatre in my life. Ever. So you’re probably wondering why this one has only earned two stars. Here goes… It explores familiar grou...

9Nov

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Chicago – Hull New Theatre

Whose idea was it to place a 10-piece band centre stage throughout the production of Chicago, which came to the Hull New Theatre on Monday night? The programme credits a John Lee Beatty as being responsible for “scenic design”. So, Mr Beatty - I doffs my cap, it was a genius move on your part. The musician backdrop was a major part of this amazing spectacle and wouldn’t have been the same if such talents had been hidden away in an orchestra pit. All the action takes place in 1920s Chicago, America, as we follow the shenanigans of two prison cellmates - Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly. Roxie (Faye Brookes) and Velma (Djalenga Scott) are streetwise “broads” and murderers who use their feminine wiles to try to convince a jury to find them innocent. Of course, they need the services ...