REVIEWS Archives - Page 339 of 548

25Mar

By Lou SteggalsNo Comments

North West

Bricks – 53Two

“May artists bare their souls in here” intones poet Tony Walsh, as he launches tonight’s collection of short plays with the first reading of his poem, “These Bricks, they speak…”. Under the brick railway arch that 53Two calls home, we are given six vignettes of the human condition, each 15minute snapshot ploughing headlong into hard-hitting themes of childhood abandonment, illicit encounters, sexual abuse, eating disorders and vengeance. It’s a tough ask for any writer, director or actor to deliver the realism, depth and nuance one might look for in tackling such heavy-duty subjects within the timeframe and for the most part, tonight is more a solid display of modern melodrama, inviting the audience to overlook the fact that we can only lightly skim the qualities of the characters be...

<strong>Explorations – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic</strong>

25Mar

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Explorations – Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

Explorations is an evening of music to transport you, from the bustling streets of Paris, to the dark and ominous world that can be created with baroque style harpsichord, and finally to the enchanting scenes of Finland’s view of the aurora borealis. Performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Manze, this was a collection of music which swept you along an epic journey and held a poignancy as the musicians played a memorial tribute to friend of the orchestra, Maurice Henry George. The dramatic powerful opening of Mozart’s Symphony No 31, ‘Paris’ was paired beautifully with the gentle dreamlike woodwind and intricately layered strings. The fantastical elements are heightened in the second movement, with gentle and nostalgic melodies nodding to echoes of th...

24Mar

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

My Fair Lady – Palace Theatre

Bartlett Sher’s revival of ‘My Fair Lady’ has arrived at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until April, being a huge fan of the original 1964 film with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison I had high hopes and an inner excitement to watch this newly revived production. I was also intrigued to see how my 15-year-old daughter would interpret the musical as a representative of our modern-day youth. Director Bartlett Sher has mostly stayed true to the original Lerner and Loewe book, itself based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion, the story of ‘My Fair Lady’ is that of Eliza Doolittle (Charlotte Kennedy), a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins (Michael D. Xavier), a linguistics professor who after a chance meeting with Eliza makes a bet with his associate Colonel Pickering (Jo...

24Mar

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Lord of the Flies – Leeds Playhouse

If ever a classic 20th century novel was ripe for a reinvention, then it is Lord of the Flies and Amy Leach’s powerful reimagining set in the now offers new depth to a text beloved by generations of schoolchildren. William Goldman set loose a bunch of white posh school kids who crash on a desert island fleeing a conflict, but free of adult supervision they soon descend into a collective feral madness. We live in a different world seventy years on, so Leach has rightly brought together a young cast of boys, girls and children with disabilities from different backgrounds to interrogate how quickly societal norms can collapse, and how children target perceived weakness and otherness. The adaptation by Nigel Williams keeps all the familiar parts of the novel, like the conch that confers ...

24Mar

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Slow Violence – The Pleasance Theatre

We are on the sixth floor of the office building of Happy Holidays. Claire is welcoming a new team member, Peter. Initially, things get off to a promising start, although there is a clear mismatch between the personalities; Claire, controlling but clearly needy, and Peter who is more restrained but wants to fit in and make a good impression. As the days turn into weeks and months the constraints of working in that office environment become dominant, it is far too hot, but the "people upstairs" will not allow the radiator to be turned down, the watercooler dispenses stagnant water, the electricity starts fusing, and there is flooding in the lower floors of the building water plus a leak from the ceiling. This is a brilliantly devised piece by Laura Ryder and Harry Kingscott,...

24Mar

By Gonzalo SentanaNo Comments

London

Killing the Cat – Riverside Studios

Can music and speech give fundamental answers to the questions that seem impossible to answer? Can we address the whys and what for of our existence through sound and bodies? Killing the Cat, the new musical with book and lyrics by Warner Brown and music by Joshua Schmidt, undertakes a very ambitious task, both dealing with very complex and interesting topics, while trying to develop a new and unique language in musical theatre. While the play does not reach those goals, it is undoubtedly a refined clockwork, performed with exquisite harmony. When going into the hall, the audience is met by a beautiful white set, designed by Lee Newby, where lights and colours designed by Jamie Platt will combine during the play, joining the music to display the different stages through which the cha...

24Mar

By Donna M DayNo Comments

North West

Cosmic – Liverpool’s Royal Court

Cosmic, written by Joe McNally and directed by Deborah Yhip, is a comedy drama telling the story of Vinnie (Andy McLeod) and the real world he has uncovered through his enthusiastic investigation into the world of conspiracy theories. His interest in the darker side of society was sparked by the death of his father, Billy, from cancer. Convinced that the newly built 5G towers are to blame for the loss of his father, Vinnie is determined to both uncover the truth of the harm caused by 5G and to put a stop to it once and for all. September 11th is the perfect date for him to put his plan into action as this is the anniversary of his father’s passing. Unfortunately, it is also his daughter Kirsty’s (Kalli Tant) sixteenth birthday, and he has promised his mother, Lesley (Claire Hackett) to arr...

24Mar

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Trade – Pleasance Theatre

Ella Dorman-Gajic's Trade comes to Pleasance theatre. A gripping tale with powerful performances by Katarina Novkovic, in the lead role of Jana, superbly supported by Eleanor Roberts and Ojan Genc. Trade follows the life of Jana, who gets hoodwinked into the European trafficking industry but rises to power to claim her autonomy. Trade was awarded an OffComm commendation by the OFFIE Awards. Trade gives us a taste of some of the manipulation, deception, and violence meted out on women to submit to being involved in the sex trade. It can reflect on the socio-economic politics of gender lack of sexual health awareness of the clientele survivors of trafficking, and modern slavery has to put up with. The artistically integrated captions make Trade accessible to d/Deaf audiences...

24Mar

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

How Not To Drown – Oldham Coliseum

'STOP THE BOATS’ is an easy phrase parrotted by politicians seeking the quick dopamine rush of an approving headline in the Daily Mail or Express. In the rush to demonise immigrants as criminals and scroungers, what is lost is the individual stories of struggle, heartbreak and loss that each one of the statistics actually represents. Writer Dritan Kastrati and ThickSkin Theatre attempt to redress this imbalance in perception, resulting in an authentic voice exploring the journey of one young boy through the asylum and care system in 21st century Britain. Dritan Kastrati was an 11-year-old Kosovan Albanian, when his parents made the decision to remove him from the chaotic aftermath of the Balkan war and send him to the supposed safety and security of the UK. Kasrati told his story to Nic...

23Mar

By Carole BaldockNo Comments

Wales

Little Women – Theatr Clwyd

And there they all are on the programme cover: hot headed Jo, thoughtful Meg, quiet Beth at her beloved piano, and spoilt brat Amy…wait a minute – it’s the same actress, Hannah Churchill. And what fun she has playing every character, and how extremely well she does it. But you’ll never guess when it was created; oh ok, you probably will since Jo is stuck in her attic, struggling to write. And we’re in the studio, on quite frankly not very comfortable seats with a howling gale rocking the building and tumultuous rain drilling the roof. Not the only things with which our heroine has to contend; it does get confusing at times, and a little contrived because it can be distracting as she has to rapidly change positions, up and down by the minute, to try and make it abundantly clear which sis...