REVIEWS Archives - Page 353 of 417

Nathan Cassidy: Bumblebee – Salford Arts Theatre

26Sep

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Nathan Cassidy: Bumblebee – Salford Arts Theatre

Being a theatre reviewer asked to write about a comedy gig is a tricky proposition. Does one deconstruct the jokes, analyse the structure and critique the persona of the main protagonist? In the case of ‘Bumblebee’, the new show from the self-deprecatingly titled ‘award nominee’, Nathan Cassidy, all such considerations are superfluous, just sit back and watch a very talented and funny man construct a jigsaw puzzle, where all the pieces neatly slot into place at the end of an hour in his company. The purported premise of ‘Bumblebee’ is the rash decision Cassidy makes following the burglary of his flat, to pursue the thief. To the strains of Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’, he gives chase, and it is the random thoughts that occur to him during this pursuit form the real heart ...

Never Lost At Home – The New Wolsey Theatre Livestream

26Sep

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

REVIEWS

Never Lost At Home – The New Wolsey Theatre Livestream

For die hard Ipswich Town fans this year is the 40th Anniversary of Ipswich Town F.C.’s UEFA Cup win and something to celebrate. Finally, the New Wolsey Theatre can help fans to celebrate this piece of Ipswich’s history, by programming ‘Never Lost At Home’ which charts how the team made it to the finals, and how their fans supported them along the way. It is no coincidence that they have run with a theme of joyous celebrations and the enjoyment of being in a crowd with friends, togetherness is a feeling that has been sorely missed! I joined in to watch the show via livestream, which is a welcome addition for audience members who do not live locally or have disabilities that make it difficult for them to go to the theatre. The New Wolsey have some wonderful shows progra...

The Formidable Lizzie Boone – The Anthony Burgess Foundation

26Sep

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

The Formidable Lizzie Boone – The Anthony Burgess Foundation

Ever since Phoebe Waller-Bridge wowed the Edinburgh Festival in 2013 with 'Fleabag', a litany of semi-autobiographical dark comedies have trod the same path in the hope of emulating her success. Selina Helliwell has the latest hopeful incarnation of this confessional oeuvre, bringing 'the Formidable Lizzie Boone' to the Anthony Burgess Foundation for a two-night residency, beginning on 24th September. Helliwell appears alone onstage throughout the hour-long performance, her only support being a number of recorded voice artists playing the various characters that flit in and out of the narrative she unfolds. As Lizzie Boone, she unburdens herself to an unseen therapist (Marie) and we move through the chronology of her sad childhood and adolescence, chronicling broken relationships with w...

24Sep

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

The Last Five Years – Garrick Theatre

Jason Robert Brown's musical The Last 5 Years comes to the West End a year after its sold-out London premiere at the Southwark Playhouse. The show originally premiered at Chicago's Northlight Theatre in 2001 and has been produced in Northern America and internationally ever since. The musical takes us through five years in the relationship of New Yorkers Jamie and Cathy, an emerging author and actress respectively, and the toll their demanding professions take on their lives as they fall in and out of love. The action follows a non-linear approach with Jamie's story told in chronological order, starting at the first encounter between the two, whilst Cathy’s story plays out in reverse chronological order, starting just after their marriage has ended. Their individual timelines play out i...

24Sep

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Blithe Spirit – Harold Pinter Theatre

Noel Coward’s comedy about death and spirits has been playing at theatres around the world since 1941. Enjoying immense success during a time of war when death hung over every household like a persistent mist, it tapped into our innate fascination with the supernatural to tell us more about our present circumstances. Not only was it been adapted into a musical and a feature film, but it also continues to remain a popular choice for adaptation by theatre companies around the world. I remember seeing a version of Blithe Spirit myself in the University of Delhi, wherein the story had been contextualized for an upper class contemporary Indian society. This universal relatability of the text and its characters is an ode to its timeless nature, still drawing packed audiences to date. In this pro...

24Sep

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

The Ballad of Maria Marten – The Lowry

Theatre is at its best when it can retell a story in a new dynamic, a new setting or with a new spin. All of the above are true of Beth Flintoff’s adaptation; The Ballad of Maria Marten which tells the true story of a harrowing true crime which took place in 1827. The Red Barn Murder which occurred in Suffolk saw Maria Marten shot and then buried for over a year before her body was discovered, but this play doesn’t focus on just her death but more a celebration of her life and it’s incredibly captivating as a result. Directed by Hal Chambers, this play doesn’t feel like a murder mystery nor does it feel like a dark crime drama, it’s inviting and makes a statement that Maria Marten’s murder is not her defining life moment; she had a life - she loved, she laughed, and it’s a clever rew...

Funny Girls – New Wimbledon Theatre Studio

23Sep

By Gaurav SinghNo Comments

London

Funny Girls – New Wimbledon Theatre Studio

In his new play Funny Girls, English playwright Roy Smiles imagines a fictional encounter between two American pop culture icons, Barbra Streisand and Joan Rivers. From their first on-stage gig as co-actors in an off-Broadway show called ‘Driftwood’ (an event that actually happened in real life) to their run-in many years later at the height of their stardom, this two-hander play examines their friendship built on shared Jewish identities and insecurities about a life in show business, among other things. This production is created in collaboration with Ambassador Theatre Group’s Studio at New Wimbledon Theatre as part of their new Premieres Season, travelling Upstairs at The Gatehouse Theatre next month. Throwing a spotlight on their early lives and the decisions that influenced their car...

Over The Garden Wall – Unity Theatre Online

23Sep

By Jo TillotsonNo Comments

REVIEWS

Over The Garden Wall – Unity Theatre Online

The last 18 months of social isolation have caused many of us to consider what it means to live in a community and why it is important to have support where you live. The creative team behind Over The Garden Wall, a digital production being shown by the Unity Theatre in Liverpool, have asked those same questions, and this animated short is the result. Now, please do not be put off by the phrase “animated short”. Yes, this production is only 20 minutes long, and yes, it does include stop-motion and digital animation, as well as puppetry. But it is so much more than that. It is a heartfelt insight into Liverpool communities and what makes them special, how they grew, and why they are so important. You hear voices from those communities, supported by well-thought out and endearing animatio...

23Sep

By Natalie J RomeoNo Comments

London

Rock Of Ages – New Wimbledon Theatre

For a show that defiantly publicised itself as the worst show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the atmosphere at the New Wimbledon Theatre yesterday evening was one of indisputable excitement. Rock of Ages, the undeniably funny musical that has lavished audiences with classic rock anthems that have been our guilty pleasures for decades, has returned to a packed out theatre. It’s understandable why some just won’t like this show- the obvious objectification (and dismissal) of women being a prime example. This is obvious from ten minutes in when Sherrie Christian (Rhiannon Chesterman) bends down to pick something up whilst wearing very short shorts, giving Dennis Dupree (Ross Dawes), the owner of The Bourbon Room, the Hollywood bar where most of the show takes place, all the motivatio...

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – Liverpool Playhouse

23Sep

By Kiefer WilliamsNo Comments

North West

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – Liverpool Playhouse

Tennessee Williams' searing masterpiece is brought back to the stage with this joint production between Curve Leicester, The English Touring Theatre and Liverpool Everyman/Playhouse. It’s a play about deception, greed, sexual desire, self- delusion and how lies seem so much more important than truth. Set on one hot Mississippi night, the highly dysfunctional Pollitt family meet up to celebrate Big Daddy’s 65th birthday and from the start all the characters begin their gameplay in earnest. Williams’s beautifully constructed play has many elaborate and intoxicating layers and explores each fractured character in great depth – his dialogue is always stark and unrelenting, and director (Anthony Almeida) lets each of the actors shine in all the iconic parts. Big Daddy played by (Pet...