REVIEWS Archives - Page 372 of 402

Romeo and Juliet – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

18Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

North West

Romeo and Juliet – Altrincham Garrick Playhouse

"We are two worlds apart." Joseph Meighan's melding of 1990s pop culture with the 16th century tale of two tragic young lovers is a bold and innovative take on what is probably Shakespeare's best-known play. As with much of Shakespeare's work, the story of Romeo and Juliet is timelessly malleable and has been retold in countless formats, including as musicals, opera and on film, since it was written in around 1595. It has been set in any number of time periods and situations with the deep-seated hatred between the Montague and Capulet families reflecting every conflict throughout history, as the cast movingly reference at the end of the play. Everyone knows the plot: Romeo, a Montague, sneaks into a Capulet masked ball and it's love at first sight when he sees the young and bea...

17Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Dream – Royal Shakespeare Company

What do you do if you're rehearsing a live performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream when suddenly a deadly global pandemic derails your plans? This is the highly unusual and unwelcome scenario that the Royal Shakespeare Company was faced with last year, as well as the wider question of what a virus that thrives on human interaction means for the future of live performance. It's this consideration that led to last night's production, which was unique, engaging and really rather beautiful. Dream is inspired by, rather than an adaptation of, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and is an immersive online experience that uses the technology we see in online gaming to create a virtual world that can be inhabited by both actors and audience. After waiting in the interactive lobby which acts as a kind o...

The Picture of Dorian Gray – The Barn Theatre

16Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

The Picture of Dorian Gray – The Barn Theatre

Oscar Wilde’s intoxicating Faustian tale of beauty, love and mortality is given a fresh and modern day treatment in Henry Filloux-Bennett’s adroit script. There have been many versions of Wilde’s dark morality tale and this particular digital adaptation using both video and film techniques alongside conventional theatre firmly places it in the world of social media and the power of the influencer where self- image and self- promotion rule the day. Wilde’s basic question is how far would a person go to achieve success and maintain personal youth, beauty and fame? As Wilde quoted “behind every exquisite thing that existed there was something tragic” and in every sense of the word the play mirrors his exact assumption. We are in dark unforgiving territory and Bennett’s clever script ...

16Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Band Plays On – Sheffield Theatres

Theatre may have been forced into an identity crisis with the core of its function being ripped away, but Chris Bush’s gig theatre homage to the city she heralds from is extraordinarily certain of itself in a way that’s neither brash nor obtuse, but fiercely considered in the best way – a way that makes its self-awareness invisible. Yes, the pandemic is touched upon, but it’s just that – a faint brush across a canvas we are all painstakingly navigating to this day, a reality we are so keen to escape. There are no broad strokes incessantly reminding here, and it allows for a sensitive, intuitive, ferocious piece of theatre that is both pertinent and liberating. The format, whilst perhaps drawn out in its committed structure, is solid. Often the simplest ideas prove the best and most e...

15Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Chatroom – Northern Comedy Theatre

“You just need to know someone’s listening. That’s enough, isn’t it?” Irish playwright Enda Walsh’s chilling dark comedy ‘Chatroom’ finds its way to a digital adaptation presented by the Northern Comedy Theatre. Originally written in 2005, Chatroom delves into the lives of a group of bored and restless teenagers – William, Jack, Eva, Emily and Laura – who occupy the dark corners of the internet in anonymous chat rooms, swapping stories about dysfunctional families, discussing obscure pop culture and even attempting to solve the troubles that plague them, together. However, the light-hearted banter and the occasional jibes take a dark turn when a new member named Jim joins the chat and shares his thoughts about his struggles with depression, anxiety and suicide. As relevant as the day it...

14Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Treason The Musical – Cadogan Hall

“Treason The Musical”, follows the story of the 1605 gunpowder plot from the perspective of the conspirators: Robert Catesby, Thomas Percy, Tom Winter and John Wright. Beautifully filmed at the dramatic Cadogan Hall, this concert presentation showcases the bones of the show, with key songs and moments linked together by rhyming narrative. With music and lyrics by Rickie Allan and book by Allan and Keiran Lynn, this presentation runs under an hour but packs in a real taste of the show. The creative team, including director Hannah Chissick have a clear vision; the show is clean, consistent in style and the story is confidently portrayed. The musical opens in 1603, where a dying Queen Elizabeth I is under pressure to name an heir with no children of her own. Life under Protestant rule h...

10Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Gatsby A Musical – Cadogan Hall

A digital concert revival of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic Jazz Age tale brought to life, Gatsby – A Musical returns due to popular demand. Fitzgerald’s masterpiece is my favourite book, so I was excited to see the story adapted into a staged performance. The production stars an incredible cast of West End performers, including Ross William Wild (Million Dollar Quartet) as the title character Gatsby, Jodie Steele (Six) as Daisy Buchanan, Blake Patrick Anderson (Be More Chill) as Nick Carraway and four-time Olivier nominee Emma Williams (Zorro) as Myrtle Williams. The plot mostly follows Steele as Daisy, seven years after the events of the book, as she revisits her memories with the mystical Gatsby by going to his mansion. The show jumps between different time periods, both in and out...

8Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Love in the Lockdown – The Telling

Filmed and directed entirely on Zoom and by Performers on their mobile devices, Rachel Stirling and Alec Newman feature in this new topical online play with music. Presented by The Telling, written by Clare Norburn and directed by Nicholas Renton, ‘Love in the Lockdown’ follows Medieval Musician, Emilia (Stirling) and playwright, Giovanni (Newman) in the early stage of an intense lockdown relationship during the very start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emilia and Giovanni met at a mutual friend’s dinner party just before lockdown started. They are forced to continue dating over Zoom and as their relationship develops, and as the couple get closer romantically, they start to work on a writing project together. Their project is a musical/theatrical piece based on ‘The Decameron’ by Boccacc...

8Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

West End Musical Drive-In – Show 3

This was number 3 in the series of West End Musical Drive-in shows which was recorded around September 2020 and brings live music from West End theatre stars to an outdoor setting whilst theatres are closed. These are now being streamed to view from the safety of people’s own homes. As with any outside broadcast, this was at the mercy of the weather which was not kind for much of this show and it was awkward for the performers having a microphone in one hand and an umbrella in the other. I know myself from first-hand experience how difficult it is to put on a show outdoors like this and the technical team involved deserve a huge amount of credit for their efforts in putting everything together. Thanks to them the quality of the sound was excellent. The show was opened, introduced and co...

Fables at the Kitchen Table – Stute Theatre/Tameside Libraries

8Mar

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Fables at the Kitchen Table – Stute Theatre/Tameside Libraries

One of the most exciting innovations in our local libraries is they have become community hubs, including storytelling for young readers, and Fables at the Kitchen Table is Tameside Council’s attempt to keep those sessions going during lockdown. They’ve recruited experienced actor-musician Sophia Hatfield from Stute Theatre to rework three of Aesop’s famous fables delivered via an online link https://www.stutetheatre.co.uk/fables to local schools and children aged 3 to 8. So she becomes Soph who has travelled the world collecting stories to bring back to Greater Manchester, and she kicks off with the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, which remains the most famous of the Greek’s storyteller’s tales. Soph is an engaging performer who employs a bike helmet and a hat with floppy...