REVIEWS Archives - Page 365 of 549

<strong>BETTY! – A sort of Musical – Royal Exchange Theatre</strong>

9Dec

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

BETTY! – A sort of Musical – Royal Exchange Theatre

As we left the Royal Exchange this evening following the World Premiere of 'BETTY! - A sort of Musical', I understood the necessity of the subtitle in attempting to describe this show. 'Betty' is part musical, part sketch comedy and all heart, a Winter warmer that is both funny and completely bonkers but lacks the consistency to make it a real Christmas cracker. Director Sarah Frankcom and Maxine Peake have further developed their long standing working relationship with both each other and this Mancunian theatrical institution, 'BETTY' is their eighth project working together. This time round they have enlisted composer and songwriter Seiriol Davies to tell the story of Baroness Betty Boothroyd, the redoubtable first woman Speaker of the House of Commons and her extraordinary rise to po...

<strong><u>White Christmas – Liverpool Empire</u></strong>

8Dec

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

White Christmas – Liverpool Empire

The classic Irving Berlin Christmas film, White Christmas has been turned into a heart-warming musical, that is sure to get even the grinch into the Christmas spirit! 10 years after their last Christmas of the Second World War, Captain Bob Wallace and Private Phil Davis are huge music stars. They’ve kicked off the festive season on The Ed Sullivan Show and plan on getting the red-eye (overnight) train from Grand Central station to Florida, to rehearse and try out their new musical revue. Whilst searching for a sister duo to be their opening act, they meet Betty and Judy Haynes and end up with them in Vermont – even stumbling across their old army general, as the innkeeper! The classic romantic comedy storyline ensues, boys meet girls, start falling in love, a misunderstanding happens bu...

<strong>Cinderella – Theatre Royal, St Helens</strong>

8Dec

By Grace AnnabelNo Comments

North West

Cinderella – Theatre Royal, St Helens

With a cast fresh from our TV screens, my expectations for Regal Entertainment's annual Christmas Panto at St. Helens Theatre Royal were high and, fortunately, I was not disappointed. One of the many charms of reviewing the marvellous institution of British Panto, is anticipating how production teams might 'freshen up' extremely overdone fairy tales to avoid audience fatigue and deliver hilarious family entertainment year after year. Cinderella at St. Helens Theatre Royal was anything but tired thanks to an eclectic mix of ventriloquism from the massively talented Jamie Leahey and Chuck (Postman and Speciality Act), stand-up comedy from Jon Courtenay (Dandini), hilarious antics from Lewis Devine (Buttons), breath-taking vocal performance from Rachel Wood (Fairy Godmother) and ah-inducin...

<strong>Alice in Wonderland – Brixton House</strong>

8Dec

By Riana HowarthNo Comments

London

Alice in Wonderland – Brixton House

Alice in Wonderland devised by Poltergeist is an original, lurid take on the classic. On the tube, Alice and her Mum wait on the platform after a Christmas shopping spree. An argument ensues and suddenly Alice gets transported to a zany, alternate dimension of the London underground, meeting strange characters at every turn. She explores the world with confusion and wonder as she tries to return home, before becoming embroiled in the problems in her new environment. It is magically creative in the way it transforms some mundane aspects of tube life into strange, absurd characters. Photo: Helen Murray All of the odd characters created a coherently bizarre world tied together by effective, energetic multi-roling. Rabbit (Khai Shaw) stresses as he rushes to his corporate job. Tortoise (...

<strong>West End to Broadway: A Christmas Cabaret – The Pendleton School of Theatre</strong>

8Dec

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

West End to Broadway: A Christmas Cabaret – The Pendleton School of Theatre

Ahh December, a time for proud parents to crowd into overheated school halls and gymnasiums to watch the tradition that is the school Christmas show, usually an event where hymns and Christmas songs are gently murdered by offspring with varying degrees of talent. Fortunately, I am at The Pendleton School of Theatre this evening where no such horrors await, and I'm wafted gently into the festive season on a tide of theatrical artistry that ensures the continuation of the excellent reputation of this school. Nostalgia blankets the programme this evening like the frost outside on this freezing Salford night, with both Musical Director Neil G Bennett and Director Becky Marshall raiding their memory box of Christmas, bringing us a programme that in addition to the traditional, allows a coupl...

<strong>Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – New Wimbledon Theatre</strong>

7Dec

By Carole GordonNo Comments

London

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – New Wimbledon Theatre

Few pantos can boast such an illustrious cast as this production of Jonathan Kiley's Snow White. Ruthie Henshall, Lee Mead, Brenda Edwards, Matthew Kelly, Dick and Dom -it's a cavalcade of West End and TV talent. And they deliver a wonderfully traditional panto with contemporary elements and twists. There are all the usual topical references and innuendo for the grown-ups, lots of naughty humour for adults and children alike, groan-worthy jokes to make everyone laugh, booing and hissing the villain, cheering on the heroine. This version of Snow White, while keeping the songs from the classic, updates them with modern pop orchestrations, adding contemporary songs into the mix. The story is the well-known tale of orphan princess Snow White who threatens to outshine her wicked stepmo...

<strong>The Borrowers – Theatre by the Lake</strong>

5Dec

By Karen Morley-ChesworthNo Comments

North West

The Borrowers – Theatre by the Lake

The tiny people who live in the walls and under the floorboards make a return visit to Theatre by the Lake as The Borrowers provides family entertainment this Christmas and into the new year, writes Karen Morley-Chesworth. The adaptation of Mary Norton’s children’s classic by Theresa Heskins follows the adventures of Pod, Homily and their daughter Arrietty whose life is turned upside down when discovered by the humans living in the house where they live under the floor. This re-telling, with the permission of the deFaria Company plays around with the scale of life between the tiny Borrowers, the human child & adults - as well as the wildlife in the open fields surrounding the Borrower’s home. With the use of puppets and set scale, we zoom in and out of the two worlds which collid...

<strong>Othello – National Theatre</strong>

5Dec

By Khushboo ShahNo Comments

London

Othello – National Theatre

The most common thematic link in Shakespeare’s Othello to the present times has been race and patriarchy. While it would be grossly wrong to say that we are over these issues, the complexities in these two realms in contemporary society have simply multiplied with ever-increasingly polarising viewpoints. Clint Dyer’s Othello brings the production to “2022”’s National Theatre with scenographic brilliance, stellar performances, and contextual relevance. Performed by a powerful cast with Giles Terera as Othella distinguished from an all-white ensemble, Dyer’s Othello not only “cleans up”, both literally and figuratively, as witnessed in the beginning, the preceding production by Laurence Olivier of 1964 but also reinstates the fact that we are still far from a post-racial society. The strong ...

<strong>The Memories Will Mostly Be Bright – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh</strong>

5Dec

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

The Memories Will Mostly Be Bright – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Creating and crafting theatre from scratch is a brave endeavour. Part of you is being measured, assessed and critiqued and it takes guts to put your ideas and interests out there for the public to judge. And so, I applaud this young writer and director, Conçalo Gois. Napier University Drama Society is clearly a very active group with 27 members of cast in this production about the nature of memory and significant moments in time remembered differently by different people. It didn’t quite hit the mark but was admirable in concept. Some things that needed attention include sound effects - ease them up, ease them down. Here it was a sudden assault on the senses and just as a surprise when they stopped - bam; lighting - use it to enhance the atmosphere/mood or concept. As this was about ...

<strong>Cinderella – Floral Pavilion</strong>

4Dec

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

Cinderella – Floral Pavilion

Floral Pavilion and Martin Dodd for UK Productions bring Cinderella to audiences this festive season. With a cast known from TV, Pop bands to theatre stars, there was an array of talent on stage tonight. Cinderella follows the story of a young girl, Cinders, who is treated unfairly by her stepsisters and follows the handsome Prince Charming as he throws a ball to find the girl of his dreams. This evening’s show was their first day of performances and as an I felt that they had not yet fully settled in. There were a few issues with sound where, on numerous occasions, mics did not come on at the beginning of people’s lines meaning the audience were missing bits of dialogue. In the larger numbers in the show, the band seemed to completely overshadow the cast on stage, again, leaving the au...