REVIEWS Archives - Page 368 of 548

<strong>Baghdaddy – Royal Court Theatre</strong>

25Nov

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Baghdaddy – Royal Court Theatre

Baghdaddy is a poignant and moving piece that shifts the lens on the indirect survivors of war. The play centres on the daughter-father relationship to provide an unseen perspective on the intergenerational trauma of war. It speaks to many truths - of being mixed heritage/ multilingual, making England home, the immigrant student experience, and witnessing war in one’s home country. The two Qareens and Jinn played by Souad Faress, Hayat Kamille and Noof Ousellam are captivating. Their obtuse costumes, clowning influences and magical aspects create a sanctuary for issues to be dwelled on but not be didactic. The memory of when we are first aware of where we are from. Zeroing on the feeling of a child watching an adult making sense of the war that unfolded kilometres away and bending time ...

<strong>Cell Outs – Traverse Theatre</strong>

25Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Cell Outs – Traverse Theatre

Two ex-screws take to intimate interior of the thrust stage of Traverse 2 to provide a thought-provoking insight into the British prison system. Glasshouse Theatre Company’s, Harriet Troup and Ella Church play themselves as graduates cajoled into the prison system on the promise of putting their arts backgrounds to good use in rehabilitation, only to find that barely six weeks later they are ‘lambs to the slaughter’ as fully qualified Prison Officers. In a comedic twist the two friends are posted to prisons within waving distance, one to a male prison, the other a female, covering both bases as it were, and provided rich material for this production. Set against a period of government cut-backs and lay-offs, the play takes us from initial recruitment through the ‘breakthrough grad...

<strong>Nobody: A Dance-Circus Adventure – Hull New Theatre</strong>

25Nov

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Nobody: A Dance-Circus Adventure – Hull New Theatre

I have just one question to ask the seven performers who entertained in Nobody: A Dance-Circus Adventure at the Hull New Theatre on Thursday evening, and that is “What planet are you all from?”. I’ve lived on planet Earth all my life, so I’ve sort of got an inkling of what humans are capable of. But this crew are out of this world. The stage setting started off simply enough with a few random boxes, lit up to look like mini-office blocks (that’s my interpretation, anyway). A huge video screen backdrop showed a cityscape of high-rise buildings, and a sky full of moving clouds. A massive cube in front of the screen was draped in material, showing a building plus moving digital scenes. Each alien, I mean performer, plays two roles - one as a crow, representing the humans’ inner voice...

<strong>The Marriage of Figaro – Liverpool Empire</strong>

25Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

The Marriage of Figaro – Liverpool Empire

Mozart’s classic four-act comic opera, an adaptation with Da Ponte of Beaumarchais’ banned 1778 play about warring masters and servants, is delightfully brought to life as Glyndebourne’s 2022 tour reaches the Liverpool Empire with this satirical and deeply human drama. As the day of Figaro (Alexander Miminoshvili) and Susanna’s (Soraya Mafi) wedding arrives, it becomes clear that their master, Count Almaviva (George Humphreys), is keen to exercise his ‘droit du seigneur’ – his right to bed a servant girl on her wedding night – and they conspire with the forsaken Countess, Rosina (Nardus Williams), to outwit her husband and teach him a lesson in fidelity. Plans however are thrown awry when Bartolo (Henry Waddington), seeking revenge against Figaro for thwarting his own earlier plans to m...

<strong>Robin Hood ‘The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto – Theatr Clwyd</strong>

25Nov

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

Wales

Robin Hood ‘The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto – Theatr Clwyd

Is there anywhere that can do a Rock ‘n’ Roll panto better than Theatr Clwyd? In my opinion ‘Oh no there isn't.’ Writer Christian Patterson has written a fantastic panto this year, full of gags, current topics and local areas as part of the humour. Wonderfully directed by Tamara Harvey, Robin Hood is a hit for all. The audience were laughing booing and cheering in all the right places and proves that Theatr Clwyd is the place to be for panto this Christmas season. The set designed by Adrian Gee is perfect for this show. Over different levels as the Forest of Flintshire(shire), it is a feast for the eye and I fully enjoyed digesting it all. Johanna Town helps bring it all to life with intricate, well thought out lighting and the sound was fantastic all night thanks to Matthew Williams...

Nativity! The Musical – The Rep, Birmingham

25Nov

By Annette NuttallNo Comments

West Midlands

Nativity! The Musical – The Rep, Birmingham

Based on the film Nativity! The musical version premiered at The Rep in 2017 and has since had three runs in London and a UK tour. This family favourite has come home for Christmas, returning to The Rep, bringing some Sparkle and Shine to everyone. We see two Coventry schools trying their best to get a five-star review for their annual Nativity play. The private school Oakmoor excel at this where the underachieving St Bernadette’s fail to get even one star. Head of St Bernadette’s Mrs Bevan is determined this year will be different and enlists her nephew to help. While Mr Poppy is a hit with the kids his ideas are very different to Teacher Mr Maddens. Can they work together to create a masterpiece? Will Hollywood come and will lost loves be re kindled? Undisputedly the stars of this ...

<strong>Oppenheimer – Manchester School of Theatre</strong>

25Nov

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

North West

Oppenheimer – Manchester School of Theatre

The genesis of the 'Manhattan' project, to develop a nuclear bomb ahead of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II, is an irresistible subject for dramatists with film Director Christopher Nolan bringing his version of the story to the cinema screen next year. Writers have always found its chief architect, J. Robert Oppenheimer, a fascinating study and in 2015 Tom Morton-Smith succeeded where many of his illustrious predecessors (Arthur Miller amongst them) have failed, bringing him to life on stage. Manchester School of Theatre has further burnished its reputation with this excellent production, which manages to weave together the scientific, personal and political threads of the story into a wholly convincing tapestry that is Shakespearean in its breadth and illustration of both personal...

<strong>Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty – The Lowry</strong>

24Nov

By Jan MellorNo Comments

North West

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty – The Lowry

Wow! For the awesome stage set and evocative costumes (such creativity from Lez Brotherton). Wow! For the hauntingly beautiful music (composed by Tchaikovsky) Wow! To the director, choreography and scenario concept (the incredible Sir Matthew Bourne) Wow! To the amazing talent of all the company for their performance, of this sublime version of this well-known fairy tale of deception, passion and devotion. That could be the full scope of my review for the performance at the Lowry – WOW! but I want to share more …… Matthew Bourne is an advocate of the astonishingly beautiful works of the Russian composer Tchaikovsky, having already directed and created the ballets The Nutcracker! (Composed in 1891) and Swan Lake (1877) and now his latest gothic take on the masterpiece S...

<strong>Noughts and Crosses – Liverpool Playhouse</strong>

23Nov

By Jenn McKeanNo Comments

North West

Noughts and Crosses – Liverpool Playhouse

A new baby signals hope, as does an unopened letter. Hope that things will be better. Fans of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses series are sure to love the stage adaptation of the book, which was also turned into a BBC series a couple of years ago. Sephy Hadley is a Cross, and her father is also the Home Secretary, Callum McGregor is a Nought, and his mother was the housekeeper to Sephy’s family, until she refused to lie for Sephy’s mother and got sacked. Having grown up together, Callum and Sephy continue their friendship in secret as in their world Crosses can’t be seen to be mixing with Noughts, especially not one from a high-profiled family. Things appear to be changing when Callum is one of three Noughts who have won a scholarship to be allowed to go to the same school as Seph...

<strong>Madame Bovary – Jermyn Street Theatre</strong>

23Nov

By Alice RoseNo Comments

London

Madame Bovary – Jermyn Street Theatre

If you have read this incredible novel, you’ll perhaps be quite confused why Jermyn Street Theatre has chosen this to be their super cheerful Christmas show. Writer Gustave Flaubert wrote of the mundaneness of the bourgeoisie, the all consuming ambition of Emma Bovary for French luxuries and expensive silks- completely ignoring the whispers from her small community. The tragedy is held in Emma’s ever growing debt following her as she aims to impress her lovers with expensive fabrics grows overwhelming high, so much so that she has completely ruined her family without her husband ever knowing. In result of her decisions, she turns to the pharmacy and eats arsenic leaving her devoted husband and 7-year-old daughter to die in poverty. This adaptation completely flips the table on the t...