REVIEWS Archives - Page 369 of 549

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...

<strong>Mrs Warren’s Profession – Richmond Theatre</strong>

23Nov

By Paul AckroydNo Comments

London

Mrs Warren’s Profession – Richmond Theatre

George Bernard Shaw wrote Mrs Warren's profession in 1893. It was immediately banned by the Lord Chamberlain, and it was not until 1925 that it had its first public performance. A lot has changed in the last hundred years, and there is little in the text now which would scandalise. Indeed, given that it is dealing with issues of prostitution it is surprisingly coy in its use of language. The core of the play is the relationship and conflict between Mrs Warren, who has made a prosperous living through her prostitution business, and her daughter, who has benefited, largely unknowingly, from the financial security and educational and economic advantages which her mother's wealth has provided her. In this production, the mother and daughter are played by real mother and daughter Caroline an...

<strong>The Rocky Horror Show – New Wimbledon Theatre</strong>

23Nov

By Lewis DownhamNo Comments

London

The Rocky Horror Show – New Wimbledon Theatre

The cult rock and roll musical is back and better than ever. With its cult following providing witty heckles, further improving the show experience and welcoming new and old fans alike. The Rocky Horror Show immerses you within the film of a ‘science fiction double feature’ starring Brad (Richard Meek) and Janet (Haley Flaherty). A typical good old-fashioned couple on their way to meet their high school professor Dr Everett V Scott (Joe Allen), where an oncoming storm changes the fate of the budding couple for a night they'll never forget. The show was narrated by Jacky Clune for this performance, adding quick comebacks to the audiences heckles and providing well-read narration throughout. Haley Flaherty (Janet Weiss) was a standout performance in my eyes. Her vocal control was super...

<strong>Dinner With Groucho – Arcola Theatre</strong>

23Nov

By Akshay RahejaNo Comments

London

Dinner With Groucho – Arcola Theatre

In 'Dinner with Groucho', Frank McGuinness tells the story of Groucho Marx and T.S. Eliot having dinner in a strange restaurant on the edge of heaven. There is a brilliant moment in the play when Shakespeare is contradicted by the host proprietor of the restaurant. ‘To Be is to not be’ she says. Life is death. All past, present and future are now, have been and will be. It seems to echo the themes of Eliot's 'The waste land'. The production is aesthetically lit by Paul Keogan with a unique combination of natural and artificial lights. Ingrid Craigie was the stand-out performer as the Proprietor. Her performance was fresh, unpredictable and seemed enigmatic -at the same time- clear. The absurdity in the play’s design shines because of the brilliant treatment by the director, Loveday I...

<strong>Love Goddess: The Rita Hayworth Musical – Cockpit Theatre</strong>

22Nov

By Anisha PucadyilNo Comments

London

Love Goddess: The Rita Hayworth Musical – Cockpit Theatre

The Rita Hayworth Musical will leave you transfixed by the energetic dance, heady with the drama behind the scenes of Hollywood and mesmerised by the music. Almog Pail’s new production with music arrangements by Logan Medland is a fitting tribute to the charisma of Rita Hayworth. The Cockpit is the most suitable venue for the production, and the actors and dancers engage the audience by weaving the tale of the star intimately. Don’t be deterred by not being familiar with the fame of Rita Hayworth. The play takes you through all the milestones of the creation of the star. In doing so, it also unmasks the glamour of Hollywood. Rita had an unsafe childhood with adults around her making her work from a young age and taking advantage of her. To think in the era of black and white film, Holly...

<strong>Opera North: Orpheus – The Lowry</strong>

20Nov

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Opera North: Orpheus – The Lowry

Opera North’s latest venture into Orpheus is a collaboration with Leeds-based South Asian Arts as their respective musical directors’ fuse Monteverdi’s operatic masterpiece, led by Laurence Cummings, with original compositions composed by Jasdeep Singh Degun reflecting the Indian classical tradition. Whilst the individual parts entertained and demonstrated some great musicianship and singing, it didn’t really add up to a satisfying whole which was often confusing on the eye and ear with its interrupted flow. Whilst billed as a reimagining, the story of Orpheus (Nicholas Watts) the musician trying to retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice (Ashnaa Sasikaran), from the underworld remains the same as does the devastating conclusion when he looks back too soon and loses her forever. The interpreta...