REVIEWS Archives - Page 34 of 340

18Dec

By Jennifer LaishleyNo Comments

London

Stranger Sings – Southwark Playhouse

Stranger Sings bursts back onto stage at the Southwark Playhouse this winter. This is an incredibly funny spoof of Netflix favourite Stranger Things that promises audiences a night of adventure, musical ear worms and non-stop laughter! This cast of incredibly talented performers use their captivating energy and beautifully blended voices to make this a musical that you will want to see over and over. Stranger Sings returns to the Southwark Playhouse for a second run, after a sell-out season in the vaults last Christmas and a tour around the country that has excited audiences night after night. Jonathan House’s script is a love letter to the 80s, with lots of musical theatre jokes that are entertaining if you’ve not managed to binge the Netflix series before seeing the show. The songs a...

18Dec

By Hannah EsnoufNo Comments

North West

The Wizard of Oz – Liverpool Empire

Aston Merrygold as the Tin man and The Vivienne as the Wicked Witch of the West, star in a vibrant and colourful stage adaptation of the classic film. Transferred to the Empire from their stint in London’s West End Jeremy Sams version stays true to the innocence and magic of the original tale. With new songs, written and composed by longstanding musical theatre icons Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, friendship and fantasy were at the forefront. Full of flair, this production lived up to the expectation of the full crowd. Not only did the A-list names pay homage to their classic roles, they did not over play and stayed true to the production as a whole letting other cast members have their moments of too, of which there were many. Aviva Tulley’s Dorothy was understated but stoic. The E...

16Dec

By Angela KellyNo Comments

North West

Jack and the Beanstalk – Regent Theatre

Well, it's here again (oh yes it is!), one of the most important dates in Stoke- on-Trent’s calendar. Its panto time! Written by Alan Mc Hugh, this year it is ‘Jack and The Beanstalk’ being performed at The Regent Theatre and perhaps more importantly, it is the return of Stokes very own and very much loved, Jonny Wilkes. Directed by Wilkes and Owen, both who also perform in the production, most must be familiar with this popular story of Jack who is asked to sell Daisy the cow at Market and returns with a bag of beans. The beans grow into a colossal beanstalk that Jack must climb to get to the top and save the day. Wilkes plays the part of Jack, a (very) simple soul who sells the families beloved cow ‘Daisy’ at the market (Leek Market that is). Wilkes is a master at treading the fin...

16Dec

By Tracey BellNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

White Christmas – Sheffield Crucible

‘Alistair David’s choreography is simply the ‘glitter glue’. Originally a 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas as become a staple of our festive celebrations. The title song was originally written for the musical Holiday Inn and is a multimillion copy seller with Bing Crosby’s version making up half of the sales. Sheffield Theatres bring this classic to the stage at their Crucible Theatre (in-the-round) and it has a stellar cast who are both in tune with its sentimentality and its splendidly relentless song and dance spectacle. The story includes a retired General who is now an Innkeeper in Vermont and two of his former platoon members Bob and Phil, who are now successful entertainers. Their paths cross again as...

Same Team – A Street Soccer Story – Traverse Theatre

16Dec

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Same Team – A Street Soccer Story – Traverse Theatre

From the pens of Robbie Jack and Jack Nurse, comes the story of five disparate women all struggling in their own way, but brought together as a team to represent Scotland at the Homeless World Cup in Italy. Created alongside the women from the Dundee Change Centre, an initiative which uses football to inspire and empower the excluded, the marginalised and the homeless. The high-charged atmosphere of the five-aside pitch is brought brilliantly to life in a cleverly conceived gymnasium set by Alisa Kalyanova, complete with floodlighting and pitch lines. The Traverse 1 auditorium could hardly be better proportioned, with its steep terraced seating and wide rectangular stage, and successfully turns normally placid audience into screaming spectator by the end of the production. ‘The Bee’...

16Dec

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

Cinderella – Contact Theatre

Panto season is well and truly upon us, with this unique retelling of Cinderella just one of many pantomime offerings to get Manchester audiences feeling festive this year. Featuring a treasure trove of talented performers, this version of Cinderella is the story we all know and love - disenfranchised girl bullied by her relentless stepsisters, until she meets her Prince Charming at the ball - but with some comedic twists, in true pantomime style. Director Sean Canning said he hopes the audience “will cheer, boo and clap along” - and that, they did. The show had everything you could want from a classic pantomime: drag queens, tongue-in-cheek humour, theatrical villains and fabulous song and dance numbers. Photo: Shay Rowan The script was a little lost in parts, and some of the...

14Dec

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Lost and Found – Factory International

Nestled in the heart of the city, a brand new arts venue stands proud as a testament to Manchester’s rich cultural legacy; Factory International is the new kid on the block, a cutting-edge venue that is establishing itself as a hub for artistic expression and entertainment. With a wide variety of productions and shows booked, staging everything from live rock concerts to immersive family productions, it’s a venue for everyone! I’m here for the latter, seeing the beautifully whimsical ‘Lost and Found’ - an adaptation of Oliver Jeffers' tale, which is an absolute triumph in immersive storytelling and tells such a heartwarming tale which introduces little ones to live theatre in just the right way, under the skilful direction of Will Brenton, a loveable cast and very clever traditional tr...

Jack and the Beanstalk – Floral Pavilion

14Dec

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

Jack and the Beanstalk – Floral Pavilion

Floral Pavilion and Martin Dodd for UK Productions bring Jack and The Beanstalk to the Floral Pavilion for the festive period. A well-known panto that has been told in many ways and this is no different. We follow the Trott family who are poor and are trying to find the money to survive and pay the £1000 the King (Tom Sterling) tells them they need to pay. So, they must sell their beloved Sandra Bullock, The Cow (Amy Walker) at market. Along the way we are introduced to many characters, such as Flesh Creep (Joseph Elliot), The Vegetable Fairy (Hayley Tamaddon) and Princess Jill (Rachel Grundy). The Trott family are made up of Dame Trott played by Oliver Brooks, Simple Simon played by Sean Jones and the title character, Jack, played by the wonderful Joe Sleight. The set for Jack a...

14Dec

By Peter RuddickNo Comments

North West

Little Women – HOME, Manchester

Christmas is not an easy time for theatre programmers. The demand is there, from young and old, but so is the competition. Eschewing the traditional panto, the full-scale musical and the seasonal farce, HOME has instead opted to revive Anne-Marie Casey’s adaptation of the classic novel Little Women. It is a very smart decision. First performed last summer, this production is like a stage version of the very best Sunday afternoon TV drama. It is totally and utterly charming from the very first second. Louisa May Alcott’s semi-autobiographical novel has truly stood the test of time and been adapted countless times and ways since the 1860s. This version is a relatively faithful, if stripped back, affair which smartly refreshes the storytelling. At the height of the American Civil...

14Dec

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Ulster American – Riverside Studios

A play about an American actor and English director and an Irish playwright sounds like the combination of two rather bad bar jokes but that is what David Ireland’s play Ulster American presents. While it might have been expected to be about the legitimate differences in the creative process between actors, writers and directors. In fact, it was a conflict between three rather implausible characters. Jay Conway, played by Woody Harrelson, is the American actor, with a glittering Hollywood career behind him. He has a great sense of his own importance and of being right even when he is clearly in the wrong. He carries his Oscar around with him to remind himself, and others of his omnipotence. From the beginning of the play, having only just recently arrived from America...